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FIGHTING 

FOR HONOR. 



A RECORD OF HEROISM 

WRITTEN BY BRAVE MEN WHO HAVE BEEN 
DECORATED FOR VALOR ON THE 
FIELD OF BATTLE. 



EDITED BY 



THEO. F. ^RODENBOUGH, 

Brevet Brigadier General U. S. A. 



/■ ■ 'X)t*V/. 



NEW ^' O R K : 

COPTRIQHT, 1893 BY 

G. W. Dillingham, Publisher, 

Successor to G. W. Carleton & Cc. 

MDCCCXCIII. 



n 



tfirt 



TO 

OUR VETERANS 

AND TO 

YOUNG AMERICA 

yi THIS BOOK IS 

\o INSCRIBED. 



^V^ 



oj-J,OIOO 



^>i> 



PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 



IT is proper to sa}^ that, since the date of the original 
publication, some additions have been made to the 
text and illustrations. The popular appreciation of the 
book has been followed by the action of the War Depart- 
ment providing for suitable ceremonies attending the 
bestowal of the Medal of Honor, and for the publication 
in General Orders and in the Army Register, annually, 
of the names of those whose heroism has entitled them 
to such distinction.* 

It was to call attention to the lack of such provisions 
and to the existence of our War Medal — the only mili- 
tary decoration prescribed by Congress — that this 
record of daring and endurance was published. It 
illustrates the glory and peril of civilized and savage 
warfare in America, and the Editor deems it an honor, 
to present the following sketches to the patriotic reader. 

* The number of medals issued prior to April i, 1893, is 1498. 

[lii] 



V/ 



THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 




i 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



WHY confine this book to a record of five Juinlircd 
brave men, out of the 2,778,304 patriotic Amer- 
icans who volunteered to defend the Union, by land and 
sea, in the stirring days of '61 ? 

The answer may be found in the official returns of the 
War Department,* which show that, of the thousands of 
heroes on the rolls, but five hundred have been awarded 
the coveted distinction of the United States Medal of 
Honor. 

There is no reward for military merit dearer t(j the 
soldier's heart than the decoration bestowed by his Gov- 
ernment for brave deeds in the line of duty. Promotion, 
Power, Wealth, are to him trifles compared with the Iron 
Cross of Germany, the Victoria Cross of England, the 
Cross of the Legion of Honor of France, the Russian 
Cross of Saint George, or the Medal of Honor of the 
United States. 

In all ages a personal decoration for valor has been 
eagerl}' sought, proudly worn and jealously guarded, and 
in all countries, save our own, it has been conspicuously 
honored. In Europe, where such rewards are more numer- 
ous, because of the size of armies and the frequency of war, 

* See Appendix (List of Names, etc., War Dept., A, G. O., 1SS6). 



VI 



PREFACE. 



the possessor of this glorious token is envied by men, ad. 
mired by women, and loved by children. 

In America the men who are entitled to wear the Medal 
of Honor,* given by the Congress only for distinguished 
conduct in the presence of the enemy, are almost un- 
iknown to their countrymen, and the records of their hero- 
ism lie buried in the pigeon-holes of the War Department 
and in the recesses of their own breasts. And yet in 
the very year of the institution of this military reward, 
Mr. Stanton, the famous war minister, proclaimed f that 
•" alacrity, daring, courageous spirit and patriotic zeal on 
all occasions and under every circumstance is expected 
irom the Army of the United States . . . and the people 
of the United States will rejoice to honor every soldier 
and ofificer who proves his courage by charging with the 
bayonet and storming entrenchments, or in the blaze of 
the enemy's fire ! " 

A stranger within our gates will hardly agree with the as- 
sertion, so often made, that "we are not a military people " 
if he takes note of the profusion of military medals and 
crosses worn by American citizens. With few exceptions, 
these have no national, ofScial significance. The badges 
of the Loyal Legion, the Grand Army of the Republic and 
kindred associations are honorable reminders of our greatest 
struggle for Liberty and Union, but do not mark individual 
acts of courage or self-sacrifice. After these come militia 
decorations : prizes for length of service, marksmanship, zeal 
in recruiting, athletic sports, personal popularity, and other 
commendable thines. 



* For full description see Appendix. 

+ General Order 5, Headquarters of the Army, Jan. 22, 1862. 



PREFACE. 



Vll 



That a great nation, possessing for more than twenty- 
years a congressional decoration for valor, already conferred 
upon several hundred heroes, should be ignorant of its exist- 
ence is astonishing. 

The cause of this ignorance may be found in the mistaken 
simplicity which has marked the method of presentation. 

In countries from which we get many of our best military 
customs, the decoration is often handed to the soldier by 
his Sovereign in the presence of the principal officers of 
state, of large bodies of troops, and of thousands of the 
people ; the name of the fortunate recipient is published in 
the official gazette and by the press throughout the domin- 
ions. 

In our country this reward from the highest power in our 
Government is sometimes conveyed to the brave winner by 
the hands of the postman, with the brief remark, perhaps, of 
" a parcel for you." Seldom is there a parade of the troops, 
or prancing of cavalry squadrons, or rumble of artillery 
wheels, or flashing of infantry bayonets, or crash of military 
bands while the prize for valor is pinned over a heart swell- 
ing with honest pride. Seldom is the affair an occasion of 
ceremony. But mayhap the man will glance wistfully at it, 
for it means so much to him and seems to mean so little to 
others, and then it is laid aside to be occasionally brought 
out for inspection by a comrade, or to be worn on parade if 
specially authorized. 

The War Department has very recently published a list 
of officers and enlisted men who received the Medal for dis- 
tinguished service during the war. A similar list of those 
who have been thus decorated since the war (more than 
three hundred) will doubtless be forthcoming. An order 



viii PREFACE. 

containing such a list, with general instructions for the pre- 
sentation of the Medal in future, might be issued with great 
benefit to the Service. 

The record of many of the exploits for which the Medal 
has been given shows that they have been as grand as any 
in the so-called Age of Chivalry, and that they shed a bril- 
liant lustre upon our national escutcheon. 

Why should not the custom of the Continental Army, 
established by Washington, that those who had received 
the " Badge of Military Merit " should be " suffered to pass 
all guards and sentinels which officers are permitted to do," 
be revived and applied to the Medal of Honor? "The 
road to glory, in a patriot army and a free country, is thus 
opened to all." * As has been said by a gallant volun- 
teer officer, " Can we afford to neglect those appeals to 
an honest pride which Napoleon /and every other great 
captain have found so valuable ?" f 

The names of those whose deeds are herein described 
were taken at random from the official list above mentioned. 

The valuable aid rendered the Editor by the .Adjutant- 
General of the Army, the Adjutants-General of many of the 
States, Captain R. Catlin, U. S. A., Captain H. M. Munsell, 
U. S. v., and Lieutenant A. W. Vogdes, U. S. A., is grate- 
fully acknowledged. 



^r:^^^^"^^ 



* See Appendix. 

+ CaDt. G. F. Noyei^ " Bivouac and Battlefield." 



CONTENTS. 



' A Minnesota Boy's First Battle . 
" Fighting Joe's" Men 
Mars and Cupid at Gettysburg . 
-The Salient at Spottsylvania 
The Victors and the Spoils . 
Three Thinking Bayonets 
Horse, Foot and Dragoons 
Fighting the Battle o'er Again 
-With the Colors in War Time 
•Plucking Victory from Defeat 
." Mad Clear Through " . 
■At the Cannon's Mouth . 
His First Trophy .... 
The Path of Duty, the Road to Glory 
A Hero of Antietam 
Two Kinds of Courage 
.Foiling an Assassin .... 
■A Beau Sabreur. .... 
" Red Cloud's " Baptism of Fire 
Trailing the Apaches. 
^A Spartan Band. .... 
The Soldier-Scout's Story. 
Hunting " Little Wolf ". 
Besieged by the Utes. 
Regulars of the Old School. 
A Meritorious Camp Follower. 
Appendix : U. S. Military Rewards, 1776-1886. 



page 

I 

21 

33 
71 
93 

115 
126 

145 
163 
209 
214 
229 
232 
238 
252 

259 

282 

295 
31' 
321 

34S 
373 
392 
407 
446 
473 
• 475 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FULL PAGES. 

Corporal Weeks and his Corps Commander 

iHE Medal of Honor 

"Come and Take it" . 

President Lincoln to General Hooker 

Sergeant-Major Hincks at Gettysburg 

Corporal Weeks and his Corps Commander 

Battle Relics ... 

Corporal Anderson's Brevet 

Fighting the Battle o'er Again 

Sergeant Munsell's Flag 

Ginley's Last Shot 

Forrest Attacks the Train 

At the Cannon's Mouth 

Assault on Fort Sanders 

Marching to Gettysburg 

Sergeant Robinson's Gold Medal 

Confederate Colors and Captors 

Fort Phil Kearney 

"A Friend Indeed" 

A Certificate of Merit 

Scout Chapman's Heroism 

Our Cavalry in Winter 

The Corral 

" Soldiers Coming " 



page 
Frontispiece 
iv 

X 

21 

34 

70 



144 
162 
210 
223 
22S 

237 
25S 
281 
294 

310 
320 

U^ 
347 
372 
433 
437 



PORTRAITS. 



Sergeant Merritt 
Sergeant Browne 
Sergeant Luty . 
Major Hincks . . 
General Buford . 
John Burns . . 
Corporal Weeks . 
Lieut. Fasnacht . 



PAGE 

I Lieut. Gere . . . 

22 Private Dunlavy 

28 Corporal Monaghan 

ZS Captain Anderson 

42 Lieut. Curtis . . , 

45 Lieut. Riddell . . . 

71 Lieut. Norton . . . 

76 Capt. Munsell 163, 195, 207 



page 

95 
107 

"3 
121 

126 

130 

135 



xu 



ILL I '5 TRA TIOXS. 



FOR TRA I TS.—{ Coiiiiniied:) 



Sergeant Cook . . . 


214 


Major Terry . . . 


229 


Lieut. Benjamin . . 


238 


Captain Greig . . . 


252 


Sergeant Robinson . 


282 


Payne, the Assassin . 


288 


Col. Tom Custer . 


295 


Rain-in-the-Face . . 


304 


Red Cloud .... 


311 


Lieut. "Col. Powell . 


Z^Z 


Captain King . . . 


321 


Sergeant Nihill . . 


337 


Sergeant Harrington 


34S 


Priyate. Evans . . . 


373 


Little Wolf and Captor 391 


Sergeant Lewis . . 


392 



Major Thorneurgh 
Indian Boy 
" Ouray " . 
*' Antelope " 
" Bill " . . 
" Ute Jack " 
Payne and Charger 
Sergeant Grimes . 
Sergeant Lawton . * 
Josephine Meeker . 
" Susan " .... 
Col. Beall . . . 
General Harney . 
Colonel May . . 
Sergeant Fegan . 



PAGE 

406 
407 
411 
412 
413 
423 
430 
431 

435 
440 
442 

445 
452 
456 
464 



M ISC EL L A NEO US. 



PA 

Fort McHenry, 1814 . 
Candle and Serpent , . 
Sheridan's Cav'ry Badge 
French Mortar . . . 
The Dietrich Farm 
Cavalryman of 1863 . 
The Advance Guard . 
Gettysburg — First Day 
Gettysburg Belle . . 
Confederate Picket 
Where Pickett Halted 
Relieving Wounded . . 

A Fireside 

The Wilderness . . 
Ancient Artillery . . 
Gen. Scott's Autograph 
Kearney Cross . . . 
Devil's Den .... 
Monument — 99TH P. V. 



ge 


page 


V 


Battle-flag — 99TH P.V 


20S 


19 


The Picket Line . . 


227 


20 


After the Battle . 


231 


3- 


Leading the Troops . 


236 


35 


At Close Quarters . 


251 


38 


Victory 


257 


39 


Cavalry Charge . . 


280 


41 


The Happy Omen . . 


292 


47 


Music on the Frontier 309 


54 


A MUSKETIER .... 


319 


57 


The Heliograph . . 


0^2, 


62 


Adjutant's Office . 


3->(>^ 


69 


Co-mpany Kitchen 


343 


94 


The Courier . . . 


390 


125 


A Pack-Mule . . . 


405 


161 


Ouray's Sword 


444 


180 


Resting 


472 


1-85 


" Chum " 


474 


193 


Military Neighbors. 


485 



THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 



PART FIRST. 

1861-1865. 

"My heart is fretting like a tethered steed's 
To join the heroes in their noble deeds. 
A noise of armies gathers in my ears : 
The Southern yells, the Northern battle-cheers; 
The endless volleys, ceaseless ac the roar 
Of the vexed ocean, brawling with its shore ; 
The groaning cannon, puffing at a breath 
Man's shreds and fragments through the jaws of death ; 
The rush of horses, and. the whirring sway 
Of the keen sabre cleaving soul from clay ; 
And over all, intelligible and clear 
As spoken language to a listening ear, 
The bugle orders the tumultuous herds, 
And leads the flocks of battle with its words." 










" COME AND TAKE IT ! " 




SERGEANT JOHN G. MERRITT, 

FIRST MINNESOTA INFANTRY. 



A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

PERHAPS the battle of Bull Run (or Manassas)^ 
which was fought on Virginia soil on a certain Sun- 
day in July, 1861, may be likened to one of three signal- 
guns : the capture of Fort Sumter being the first, and the 
battle of Gettysburg the third. 

The firins: at Sumter warned men to choose sides and to 
prepare for a struggle, long and severe ; how bitter, how 
bloody, none at the time dreamed. 

Bull Run and its famous stampede taught the lesson that 
something more was required to win battles than masses of 
armed men ; that courage without discipline was of little 



1 



2 A MINNESOTA BOVS FIRST BATTLE. 

avail, and that the vast resources of the Government must 
be organized, drilled and led by experienced commanders 
ere victory could be ours. 

Gettysburg marked the "high tide" of the war; the 
roar of its cannon sounded the death knell of the Confeder- 
acy. Other battles were to be fought and thousands of men 
in blue and gray were to lie down in death on the same 
fields, but the preservation of the Union was assured when 
the sun went down behind the sheets of summer rain on the 
third day of Gettysburg. 

Somehow or other the name " Bull Run " is generally 
associated, in the minds of people who were not there, with 
the idea of an amusing and, on one side, at least, an en- 
tirely disgraceful performance ; and this is quite natural. 
We are often told X.\\2it fi}'st impressions are strongest, but 
this hardly holds good of a defeated army : there the 
strongest impression is doubtless the last. 

Greatly ridiculed and denounced when it occurred, the 
battle of Bull Run is gradually finding its vindication. 
General Sherman says it was " one of the best planned 
battles of the war, but one of the worst fought," and that 
"both armies were fairly defeated." General Johnston, 
says: " If the tactics of the Federals had been equal to their 
strategy, we should have been beaten." While therefore 
Bull Run will always be famous for its discreditable feat- 
ures, it is now known that in no other affair of the war 
were there more brilliant exhibitions of personal gallantry 
and heroism than on that historic field. Many of these ex- 
ploits were by boys of eighteen who faced death there for 
the first time. One of these, Sergeant JOHN G. Merritt, 



GOING TO THE FRONT. ■% 

Company K, First Minnesota Infantry, who afterward re- 
ceived the Medal of Honor for gallantry at Bull Run, tells 
the story of his first battle so well that it is given here in 
his own words : 

GOING TO THE FRONT. 

" I was a sergeant in Co. K, First Regiment Minnesota 
Volunteers.* The regiment broke camp at Centerville 
about three o'clock on the morning of Sunday, July 21, 
1 861. With a soldier's equipments and three days' rations, 
we realized before sunrise that it was going to be a hot day. 
After we had been on the march for about a couple of 
miles we turned off the main road to the right ; we were 
delayed a good deal by fallen trees with sharpened points 
sticking towards us. Whenever we could we would double- 
quick, and, as the morning was very hot, the pace told on 
some of the men. 

" John Ball, the orderly sergeant of K Co., was sick and 
I was acting as orderly sergeant. As sick as Ball was, he 
came on the field, and I saw him standing near the regiment 
while they were engaged, with his arms folded, apparently 
the most unconcerned person of the lot ; he was a brave 
and fearless man. Captain Lester, Lieutenants Holtzbornf 
and Periam:}; were the officers of the company. 

"We could hear the sound of cannon very distinctly about 

*" The brigade left camp near Centerville at 2.30 a.m. in the following order: — ist 
Minnesota, Ricketts' Battery, 5th Massachusetts. The Minnesota regiment was arranged 
with the two front companies as ready to act as skirmishers, the next three companies as 
the advanced guard, and the remainder of the regiment formed the head of the column 
. . . the brigade reached Bull Run about 11 a.m. after a march of about twelve miles."— 
War RecordSy Col. Franklin's Report. 

+ Killed at Antietam. 

X Mortally wounded at Gettysburg. 



4 A MINNESOTA BOY' S FIRST BATTLE. 

eight o'clock, and by ten or eleven o'clock we could plainly 
hear the sound of musketry ; by that time we knew we were 
going to have a fight. After I was satisfied that such was 
going to be the case, and being desirous of obtaining mili- 
tary distinction, I applied to Lieutenant Holtzborn, of my 
company, for the privilege of selecting four men for the pur- 
pose of capturing the first Confederate flag we could get. 
The lieutenant told me it was a hazardous undertaking, 
but said, after consultation with Captain Lester, I had per- 
mission. Sergeant Dudley, Privates Durfee, Grim and one 
other, whose name I have forgotten, readily consented to' 
my proposal, and all agreed to follow me and to stick to 
one another under any circumstances. 

" Before going into action, the whole regiment divested 
themselves of knapsacks, haversacks and blankets, and piled 
them in one large heap beside the road, thinking of course 
we would be back in a couple of hours — as soon as we had 
'crushed the Rebellion.* I and my four men in partic- 
ular carried nothing with us but our ammunition and guns. 
After we had supplied ourselves with water,* and every- 
thing being now ready, orders were given to ' Forward I ' 
and we immediately filed through a cluster of trees, where 
the dying and wounded were being brought on stretchers 
and blankets. Everything was at the height of excitement, 
as the roar of cannon and the incessant volleys of musketry 
were very heavy, and with an occasional stray shot coming 



* " At Sudley Springs, while awaiting the passage of the troops of the division in our 
front, I ordered forward the ist Brigade (.Franklin's) to fill their canteens. Captain 
Wright led forward the Minnesota regiment to the left of the road which crossed the 
Run at this place. . . .^'—Colonel Heintzlematis Report. 



GOING INTO ACTION. 5 

among us, you can rest assured the regiment was on the 

alert. 

" I never shaU forget the first sight of dead, wounded and 
dying. Pity and sympathy, mingled with a feeling of fear, 
made me realize in an instant we were approaching death. 
But the feeling passed away as soon as it came. 

" So far as my recollection goes, when we got out into the 
open space we were ordered to the other side of the field, 
and in marching over, double-quick, we passed directly in 
the rear of our artillery, which was heavily engaged.* It 
was very laughable and amusing to see some of the men 
jump and squat down, trying to dodge, in all manner of 
ways, the cannon shots from the Rebel guns ; and I was 
not slow at the dodging business myself. One of my com- 
pany would constantly run out of the ranks and up to the 
captain and say, 'Has the fight commenced yet? Has 
the fight commenced yet^' He was not long in finding 
out when the fight did commence. 

- Arriving at what seemed to me the extreme right, we 
formed in line in a ravine, near some cavalry, and awaited 
orders. 

" It was now about half-past one o'clock. We were soon 
ordered forward, and as we advanced rapidly to the brow of 
a plateau we knew we were soon to meet the enemy, face 
to face, at short range. Just before we got to the top ot 
the plateau the bugle sounded 'lie down.' With fixed 
bayonets and loaded rifles we were ready and anxious for 
business. In about a couple of minutes the bugle sounded 

* » At a little more than a mile from the ford we came upon the battlefield. Franklm's 
brigade was posted on the right of a wood near the centre of our Ime, and on ground ns- 
ing toward the enemy's ^o^Mo^r-Colonel Heintzleman s Report. 



6 A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

' stand up ' ; no sooner liad we done so and were well in 
line when the command ' Forward I ' was given. That 
brought us directly in plain sight and directly in front of a 
line of *Rebs.'* We were not more than thirty or thirty- 
five yards apart ; in fact we were so close that for a minute 
we did not know who they were+ d saw, about this time, 
General Heintzleman riding in plain view of the enemy). 
We saw their colors and all fired immediately ; in less than 
half a minute they gave us a round. We were ordered to 
lie down and load ; then we were ordered to stand up and 
fire. We had given them three or four rounds and they 
were slowly falling back, a little confused. When the 
smoke and dust would break away we could see them and 
their colors as plain as you can see a man across the street. 
Just at this time a single gun from Ricketts' Battery came 
directly to the rear of K Company, unlimbered, and in less 
than half a minute gave them a round of grape and canis- 
ter. The artillerymen immediately reloaded and gave them 
another dose of the same medicine. The second round 
threw them in utter confusion, and it was at that time 
myself and the men named above advanced double-quick 
on the Rebel color-bearer. We had no trouble in reaching 
him, as the smoke and dust had not risen, and from his 



* " I then led up the Minnesota regiment, which was also repulsed but retired in toler- 
ably good order. It did good service in the woods on our right flank, and was among the 
last to retire, coming off the field with the 3d U. S. Infantry. . . .^''—Colonel HeititzU- 
inans Report- 

t "The ist Minnesota Regiment moved from its position on the left of the field to the 
support of Ricketts' battery, and gallantly engaged the enemy at that point. It was 
so near that point, friends and foes were for a time confounded. The regiment be- 
haved exceedingly well, and finally retired from the field in good ox&e.r."— Colonel 
Franklin' s Report. 



A FIGHT FOR THE STANDARD. J 

actions I thought he was under the impression he had been 
captured, 

A FIGHT FOR THE STANDARD. 
''The man who carried the colors was about five feet ten 
or eleven inches, dark complexioned, with black hair, shght 
mustache and black eyes ; he with others about him wore 
gray clothes and black slouch hats; some one was trymg 
to form them. The color-bearer had his coat unbuttoned, 
with his hat on the back of his head. As I got within a 
couple of feet of him I commanded him in a peremptory- 
manner to surrender, and at the same time Dudley, Durfee 
and myself cocked our guns. I grabbed the colors out o 
his hand; he and one or two more said, 'Don't shoot. 

don't shoot !' 

"The flag was a red one with a white stripe running 
through the middle of it, with blue in one corner and some 
stars on it. As soon as I grabbed the colors out of the 
Johnnie's hands I told him to follow me quick, and at the 
same time told my men to get back to the regiment as soon 
as possible. Dudley, Grim and myself were laughing at 
the ea^y thing we had, and all of us running for the regi- 
ment AS fast as we could go, ^.\^^r^-bang ! bang! bang! 
came 3 voPey. after us, killing Grim and the comrade whose 
name 1 have forgotten, and at the same time a dozen or 
more of Rebs ran after us, some of them hollering^' Kill 

the d d black abolition, red-shirt Yankee, . . . •' and 

at the same time gave us another round. From the sound 
it seemed as if a regiment was firing at us. That was the 
shot that killed young Durfee and wounded me m the le^r; 



8 A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

another bullet went through the breast-pocket of my shirt 
and shivered my pipe in pieces. I dropped my gun but 
held on to the flag, and was going about as fast on one leg 
as most men generally go on two ; but before I had gone 
ten feet I was hit over the head with what I thought was 
the stock of a musket. It knocked me down but did not 
knock me senseless. They immediately pulled the flag out 
of my hands and fell back on a run. 

" As they did so, Dudley came back to me (he had run 
.ahead some little distance), helped me up and assisted me 
-?ilong as fast as I could go. How Dudley and I escaped 
with our lives seems almost incredible, and looks now as if 
"we had been hedged about with some halo of good luck. 

" From the firing of the gun of Ricketts' Battery to the 
time I was shot, not more than five or eight minutes had 
expired. What we did, we did quick and without cere- 
mony, and if we could have kept them off from us half a 
minute longer we would have been safe. As soon as we 
got back to the regiment and I realized the fact that I 
could not walk and was bleeding very fast, I took my sus- 
penders off and tied them as tight as I could above the 
wound, to keep from bleeding to death ; and at the same 
time asked Lieutenant Holtzborn, who happened to sec 
me, to have some one assist me to the rear. Xhis was dur- 
ing some change of position of the regiment. 

" He ordered Sergeant Dudley and Private Durfee, a twin 
brother of the one who- had just been killed, to carry me 
ofT. I put an arm round each of their necks and held on 
to them as they hurriedly walked along 



GOING TO THE REAR. g 

GOING TO THE REAR. 

" The regiment was still fighting, and at this time a 
mounted officer, with his reins in one hand and a big navy 
revolver in the other, rode by us on a dead run ; turning 
round in his saddle he hollered out, ' Men of Minnesota, 
for God's sake don't disgrace your State!' — and he was 
off for Washington or some other safe place as fast as his 
big bay horse could carry him. It was an ocular and com- 
plete demonstration of the advice a father gave to his son, 
* Do as I say, but not as I do.' 

" As soon as we sot to the foot of a little hill I fainted 
away on a spot where some horses had been standing. I 
was brought to by Dudley throwing some dirty water in 
my face. This immediately straightened me up, and taking 
hold of them as before we hurriedly moved off. By the 
time they got me to a house, which was being used as a 
temporary hospital, I began to feel sick at my stomach and 
very faint. Surgeons were dressing the wounds of some 
of Ellsworth's Zouaves, Michigan and Massachusetts men, 
and giving them stimulants. They gave me two or three 
swallows, which settled my stomach and made me feel bet- 
ter. The next thing I knew I was being pulled up and 
yanked along as fast as we could go. All commenced to 
move along at a break-neck gait. The retreat had com- 
menced. And of all the helter-skelter, pell-mell, devil-take- 
the-hindmost gang I ever saw, or heard tell of, or ever read 
about, that crazy crowd beat them all. They all went as if 
a cyclone had struck them. All was confusion, all disorder 
and every one acted as if the Johnnies were determined to 
have a Yankee apiece for supper; and some of them would 



I o A MINNESO TA BOY'S F/RS T BATTLE. 

pass by and look at the wounded that were being carried 
and helped off, as much as to say, ' They can have _;/<?«, but 
by golly they shan't catch me ! ' I don't believe there was 
ever a greater stampede of troops than there was between 
that house and the bridge. Dudley and Durfee saved my 
life without a doubt. Durfee would have abandoned me to 
Dudley's charge some time before if I had told him the 
truth about his brother, about whom he was constantly in- 
quiring. And here was an instance where ' evasion ' seemed 
better than telling the truth. His brother, as brave and 
daring a fellow as ever shouldered a musket, and very quiet 
and modest at all times, made a remark just before I 
grabbed the colors out of the color-bearer's hand^ that I 
shall never forget. 'Sergeant,' said he, 'when you take 
it, hold on to it,' and in less than half a minute he was 
shot dead. Had I told his brother he had been killed or 
wounded he would have returned to his assistance immedi- 
ately, and that would have been the last of me. 

" I was the only one of the three that had any money, 
and we finally succeeded, after several attempts, in per- 
suading a teamster, with a four-horse wagon, to let them 
put me on the off-wheel horse, by giving him four one-dol- 
lar gold pieces and some sutler's tickets. Dudley remarked, 
' Give him all you have got, as we might as well get broke 
here as anywhere. Riding the off-wheel horse brought 
my wounded left leg between the two horses and on top 
of the wagon tongue"; this caused me so much pain, I had 
to turji round on the horse so as not to have my leg hurt 
between the two horses. With one hand holding on to 
the root of his tail, and the other hand behind me grasping 



A FAMOUS RETREAT. II 

the end ot the hames, bare-headed, with a heavy red 
woollen shirt on (the whole regiment wore blue and red 
flannel shirts), all open at the collar and the sleeves rolled 
UP my face covered with blood and dirt, hair stickmg 
straight up and matted full of old leaves and grass and 
•sacred soil,' and with the worst looking wounded leg , 
you ever saw. you can imagine what a pitiful but ludicrous 
sicht I must have presented. There must be lots of men 
liWng yet who saw me just as I have described. I am sure 
I have not half described my appearance on that horse. 

A FAMOUS RETREAT. 

" Everybody was hollering to get out of the way. and 
every one was running or trying to run. The road was full 
of troops, wagons, ambulances, artillery and some pnvate 
conveyances ; all going as fast as they could go and actmg 
iust as if the whole Confederate Army was at their heels 
with fixed bayonets. The Rebs were shelling us and 
everything was at the height ot confounded confusion. 
No one knew or cared anything about any one except 
themselves. The cursing and yelling ot the teamsters, the 
pushing of those whose passage was being obstructed and 
the groans and appeals tor assistance from the wounded, all 
tended to make one believe that, as the teamster sa.d, 
" H— U had broke loose.' 

" We arrived at the bridge a little before sundown. As its 
passage was obstructed by a big gun or caisson, and as we 
were being heavily shelled at that point, madness and con- 
fusion reigned supreme. The teamster could go no fur 
ther He jumped off his horse (he rode and drove with a 



12 A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

jerk-rein), unhitched the near leader, cut the jerk-rein and 
away he went across the stream. The wagon was full of 
wounded, wuth pick-axes and shovels for a bed. All of the 
wounded were begging to be helped across the Bull Run, a 
stream about eight or ten feet deep, and about twenty feet 
wide at that place. Just as the teamster mounted his 
horse one of the men in the wagon, with his arm in a sling, 
jumped out, and with one hand commenced unhitching the 
saddle-horse. I at the same time reached over m}- horse's 
haunches and unhooked both his traces, and at the same 
time appealed to the fellow to unfasten my horse's pole- 
chain ; it was impossible for me to do it, as I was back- 
wards on my horse. He did so, and as luck would have it 
the chain unhooked at the first pull ; he instantly mounted 
his horse, and turning around to the left rode into the 
stream. My horse, being the mate, jumped over the 
tongue of the wagon and followed him. The horses seemed 
as anxious to get away as the panic-stricken soldiers. Men 
and horses were in the stream plunging for the other -side. 

" As I was crossing, one of the Zouaves caught me by the 
wounded leg, with a view, I presume, of getting across. It 
hurt me so, I let go the horse's tail and gave him a punch 
in the head Avith my fist which loosened his hold on me 
very quick; before I resumed my tail-hold the horse was 
across and had struck into a gallop, following close to his 
mate. At that time a shell passed so close to his head he 
threw it up as if he had been suddenly jerked by the bit. 
That started the horses into a run, and I certainly thought 
I would be knocked off my beast as he galloped so fast 
under the low branches of the trees, raking and scratching 



JOHN GILPIN OUTDONE. 



15 



me on the back ; at times it felt as if I had been struck 
with a club, but the tail-hold and harness saved me. Pain 
and Fear were riding for life, with chances now in favor of 
the latter ; you may be sure I was not going to lose the 
race by being pulled off. I believe the distance from Bull 
Run to Centerville is about six miles. I think the bridge 
where we crossed was about two miles from the battlefield, 
so I must have ridden that horse backwards about four 
miles — the most of the time as fast as he could go. We 
did not stop for anything — neither ditches nor fences. If 
the one-armed wounded soldier that rode my horse's mate 
fought as vigorously as he rode, he certainly knocked out 
more than one ' Gray-back.' I did not once have my 
horse's bridle-rein in my hand. I never saw my friend 
before nor since, and the only words we exchanged with 
one another were when he told me his horse was running 
away, and I said, ' For God's sake, let him go !* 

" We arrived at Centerville about nine o'clock at night. 
I was helped off the horse by a regimental surgeon under 
some trees. The poor old horse was nearly exhausted, but 
was immediately remounted by a soldier who rode off. 
Surgeons were taking care of the wounded. They looked 
at my wound and told me I had better have my leg ampu- 
tated at once, but I would not consent to it. I was suffer 
ing very much from pain, and was nearly exhausted from 
loss of blood ; nothing in the world kept me up but excite 
ment. A four-horse wagon drove up and the soldiers that 
were being cared for were helped in. The confusion and 
hurry was still great. I begged them to let me get in the 
wagon, but an officer refused, saying there was no room 



14 A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

for me. I crawled to the wagon and got in over the front 
wheel while the others were being helped in the back end. 
I stayed in the wagon, although I was ordered out two or 
three times ; they were in too big a hurry to put me out. 
Off they drove as fast as they could get along. There 
were seven of us in the wagon, all badly wounded ; the 
driver and a soldier on the seat with him were not 
wounded : one drove and hollered, while the other 
whipped and cursed. It was very dark and I think it was 
raining. The road was still full of wagons, ambulances and 
straggling troops. W'e would go very fast at times, and 
then would stop for a few minutes until the teams ahead of 
us moved on. I think the driver was the worst scared of 
all of us, for he tried to drive by, and drive over, every- 
thing; up hill and down, over stumps, logs and rocks; we 
were continually being thrown or tossed from one side of 
the wagon to the other. 

THE SILENT PASSENGER. 

"We arrived at Fairfax Court House about midnight. I 
laid my head on a big fat fellow who had sprawled out at 
full length on the bottom of the wagon. We had been 
quarrelling all night about interfering with one another's 
wounds. I supposed the fat fellow had gone to sleep, and 
taking advantage of his position I laid my head on his 
stomach and immediately went to sleep myself. I thought 
it was the softest pillow I ever used. I don't know how 
long I laid there — perhaps half an hour ; we all went to 
sleep. We were awakened by being jolted about in the 
wagon, which was going down hill at a lively gait ; all were 



THE SILENT PASSENGER. 



15 



complaining about our wounds; two or three were groan- 
ing and whining. When the team would walk we would 
all go to sleep again — two or three of us using the fat fel- 
low as a pillow as before. I had a dispute with one of the 
men about my place on the fat fellow's stomach and made 
him move his head along and I resumed my former place. 
We laid as best we could in that position until daylight, 
when we discovered we had been using a dead man for a 
pillow ; the poor fellow had died about the time we left 
Fairfax, as he was very quiet at that place. I thought, the 
last time I laid my head on him, what a clever fellow he 
was to let us have such a comfortable position, and was 
sorry 1 had quarrelled with him the early part of the night. 
We kept him in the wagon until just before we arrived at 
the Long Bridge. Our pain and exhaustion silenced any 
scruples we otherwise would have had on such an occasion. 
" We were delayed at the bridge some time by the wagons 
and troops crossing. We got on the bridge about half 
past nine or ten o'clock, and must have been an hour cross- 
ing. When we arrived on Pennsylvania Avenue it was 
raining. The street was full of transportation of all kinds, 
and soldiers ; all moving in different directions. The six of 
us left in the wagon were completely worn out and ex- 
hausted from hunger, loss of blood, and neglect. My leg 
was very much swollen and very painful. The wagon 
stopped between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets. Some 
ladies passed some wine into the wagon under the cover. 
All drank what they wanted. I drank a tin cup full ; it 
was delicious, but made me drunk immediately. I did not 
see the ladies, but the hand that passed the wine to me 



1 6 A MINNESOTA BOV S FIRST BATTLE. 

was small and white, with a silken sleeve, and with dia- 
monds on the fingers. The ladies also passed in some cold 
meat and bread, but we had no use then for bread or meat, 
as the wine was food and raiment. 

. " We remained on the avenue about an hour before it was 
decided where to take us. Finally we were ordered to the 
E Street Hospital, where we were taken out of the wagon 
and surrounded by a large crowd of men, women and chil- 
dren, some laughing and others pitying the appearance of 
the wounded as they were being carried into the hospital.. 
I was laid on a bed in a large room filled with wounded, 
mostly from the New York, New Hampshire and Massa- 
chusetts regiments. As soon as I was laid down, one of 
the Sisters of Mercy who were in attendance — God bless. 
them — commenced washing my face with cold water. It 
was a delightful sensation and I immediately fell asleep. 

" When I woke up the doctors were around my bed ex- 
amining my wound and deciding whether they would ampu- 
tate it above or below the knee. I would not consent to. 
amputation and they left me in charge of an attendant. 

HOSPITAL MEMORIES. 

• " The New York papers contained a list of dead and 
wounded ; my name appeared among the list of dead. My 
father telegraphed the late Senator Grimes of Iowa, who was 
at that time a senator from that State, to find out, if he 
could, if I was dead or alive. The Senator learned I was 
in the E Street Hospital, and called on me Wednesday 
morning. As I had never seen him before, he introduced 
himself and made known his errand ; after a few minutes 



HOSPITAL MEMORIES. 



17 



cheerful conversation he bade me good-by and left. He 
immediately wrote to my father, and in a portion of his let- 
ter he said : 

" ' I found your son, Sergeant Merritt, Wednesday morn- 
ing, in the E Street Hospital. He is badly wounded in the 
leo- but seemed very cheerful when he told me the doctors 
had decided not to amputate it. He is a fine-looking^, 
young man, and when these trying times are over I hope 
his parents may again have the pleasure of taking to their 
bosom their brave and honored son.' Ex-Senator Windom, 
then a member from Minnesota in the House of Represent- 
atives, often called to see me at the hospital, and was 
exceedingly kind in every respect. 

" The chaplain of our regiment called everyday. He was 
very deaf and very much devoted to my spiritual welfare. 
He would come right up to the bed holding a Bible in his 
hands, and put his mouth down to my ear and say in 
a loud voice, ' Good-morning, Sergeant. How did you 
sleep last night. Sergeant.? Do you think you are im- 
proving, Sergeant? Let us pray; ' and down on his kneea 
he would get and pray for about five minutes, invoking 
especial aid and blessing on all of the wounded of the ist 
Minnesota Regiment, and would wind up by saying he 
hoped I would.' soon be able to report for duty to the reg- 
iment. Allien! Amen ! ' He would get up, take up his cap 
and get out as quick as he came in. He was a good man, 
but it was the same questions and same prayers every 
morning except Sundays, when he would include for special 
blessino; the soldier in the bed next to me. 



l8 A MhVXESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

" John Heenan, the pugilist, and a man by the name of 
Decker, ex-chief of the fire department of New York, cahed 
frequently to see one of the Zouaves, an old friend of theirs 
who laid in a bed next to me. I got well acquainted with 
Heenan. They would sit, one on my bed and the other on 
their friend's bed, and talk for half an hour or so, and 
always bring some little delicacies. Heenan told me, one 
morning, he understood I had captured a Rebel flag at Bull 
Run, and asked me what I had done with it. I pulled off 
the sheet and wet cloth on my wound and pointing to it 
said, ' I traded it off for that ! ' The sight of it made him 
sick at his stomach and he left the hospital. In two or 
three days they came in again, and as Heenan approached 
the bed he threw up both hands and said, laughing, ' No 
more leg ! ' After a few minutes I asked him if he would 
like to enlist in my regiment. He said, ' No, indeed ; from 
what I have seen,' looking toward my leg, ' I can do better 
fighting in the Ring than in the Field.' He was a fine- 
looking, clever fellow, and looked and acted more like a 
gentleman than a prize fighter. 

" While we were in camp near Alexandria, Va., before we 
went to Centerville, we would occasionally do guard duty 
there. I was relieving guard one morning with a file of 
men, and on passing an open door of a private residence, 
there stood a couple of young girls, about sixteen or eight- 
een years old, laughing and making fun of the Yankee 
soldiers. One of them had on an apron representing the 
Confederate flag. I halted the men and told her to take 
it off. She said, 'You long-legged, hateful Yankee, I 
wouldn't take it off to save your good-for-nothing life ; ' and 



THE REWARD OF MERIT. 



19 



bslh pf the girls glared at us defiantlyi We all l>aughed at 
their pluck and moved on." 

THE REWARD OF MERIT. 

Sergeant Merritt remained in hospital about thirty days, 
when, having recovered from his wound, he rejoined his 
regiment in Maryland. His »'ecord shows that he served 
with characteristic gallantry during the remainder of the 
war, and took part in all the battles of the famous Second 
Corps, Army of the Potomac. 

Long after the events which he \\.\~> described, he received 
the bronze medal, with a letter, of which the following is a 
copy: 

jl 

War Depaktjment, 
Washington, April i, 1880. 

IR ; I transmit to you the en- 
closed Medal of Honor, which, as 
the inscription shows, is from 
" The Congress to Sergeant John 
G. Merritt, Co. K, ist Minnesota 
Volunteers." 

This medal is awarded to you 
under the provisions of law for 
gallantry at the battle of Bull Run, in July, 1861, where 
you were wounded while in advance of your regiment. 

In connection with this award I find occasion to remem- 
ber v/ith renewed pleasure and gratitude the patriotism of 




20 



A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 



Minnesota's citizens, who in answer to my call as Governor, 
at the first dawn of the war period, valiantly responded with 
the cheers, the trumpets and the drums of the First Minne- 
sota Regiment, of which you were a member. 

Alex. Ramsey, 

Secretary of War. 




^^ .^ />-^ A^-^ ^'-^^ ^'^■^^ ^'^^/' 

,^,.^^^,:2:£, ^u^ .^.-^^ 6^^ --^^^^^^ 
/J^ ayy>/C^^>^^^^^^^^ ^^m^ (h-^ o^^ *yw£^ 

21 




SERGEANT EDWARD BROWNE, 
SIXTY-SECOND N. Y INFANTRY. 



"FIGHTING JOE'S" MEN. 

IT is well known to veterans that Major-General Joseph 
Hooker, at one time commander of the Army of the 
Potomac, was affectionately called " Fighting Joe," on ac- 
count of the dashing manner in which he habitually led his 
division in battle. In fact, wherever he was acting as a 
subordinate commander — not weighed down with the re- 
sponsibility of an independent army — he was enterprising, 
energetic, cool-headed and vigorous in the performance of 
his duty. 

In an evil hour President Lincoln, deeming General 
Hooker available, promoted him to the command of an 
army of more than one hundred thousand men. 

While the army was in camp, and required only to be 
clothed and fed and disciplined, its new leader was equal to 

22 



CHANCELLORSVILLE. 2? 

the occasion and greatly improved the condition of the 
troops. But when called upon to manoeuvre this armed 
host in a wilderness, in presence of the enemy and of the 
chosen champion of the Southern cause, " Fighting Joe's " 
powers seemed paralyzed, his sword no longer flashed in 
the charge, his voice no longer rang in clarion tones, " For- 
ward ! " His counsel seemed weak and uncertain, and his 
movements thcxse of one groping in the dark. 

The battle of Chancellorsville was "Fighting Joe's" 
Waterloo, as the general of an army, a/though he lived to 
win fresh laurels as a corps commander in the memorable 
" battle above the clouds." This is not the place to enlarge 
upon the mistakes of leaders, however,- beyond brief men- 
tion of the operations in which there was the usual propor- 
tion of individual gallantry among the rank and file. The 
battle of Chancellorsville is famous as the spot where 
" Stonewall Jackson " met his death in the hour of his 
triumph, just as he had given a crushing blow to the right 
flank of the Union army. The operations on the left of the 
Union line, although more creditable, were of no avail in the 
end, excepting as they inspired the enemy with a respectful 
caution in following up Hooker's retreat to his old camps 
on the left bank of the Rappahannock. 

If the army commander was wanting at Chancellorsville, 
his subordinates, generally, were equal to the emergency. 

The operations on the Union left were controlled by 
General Sedgwick. One of his brave men, a survivor of the 
Great Rebellion, Sergeant Edward Browne, Co. " G," 
62d N. Y. Vol. Infantry, gives an interesting sketch of his 
recollections on that occasion. 



24 " FIGHTING JOE'S " MEN. 

I. THE AFP^AIR OF SALEM HEIGHTS. 

" While ordinarily it is not agreeable to me (not to say 
indelicate) to write of myself, and to speak of a distinction 
which fell to my lot, I confess my pride in being the holder 
of a Medal of Honor, conferred by the Congress of our 
grand country, in recognition of alleged merit ; and to 
enable you to determine whether the acts, for which my 
then superior officers thought fit to commend me, are wor- 
thy of being recorded, I will briefly narrate event's. 

" It was on the morning of May 3, or 4 (I am un- 
certain as to the date), General Hooker was at Chancellors- 
ville. General Sedgwick, with the Sixth Corps, crossed to 
the right bank of the Rappahannock, about three miles 
below Fredericksburg, and took up his line of march tow- 
ard that city. The advance, after considerable resistance 
on the part of the Confederates, entered the city just before 
daybreak and drove the enemy from, and quite a distance 
beyond, the city. My recollection is that the enemy found 
refuge behind a stone wall at the base of tlie heights back 
of the city. Be that as it may, at daylight six companies 
of the 626. Regiment were thrown in advance to uncover 
the enemy if behind the wall. I was Avith the color-guard 
at the time. We advanced in line of battle until Ave came 
within the enemy's works, which formed a circle at the foot 
of the hill, and uncovered the enemy. But we reached 
there through a murderous fire of small arms at point-blank 
range, opened upon our front and flanks, and it seemed like 
going to sure destruction. Our men were literally mowed 
down. Those of us who were not incapacitated sought the 



SALEM HEIGHTS. 



25 



cover of the city as soon as we could. The color-bearer was 
injured in the engagement, but my comrades and I brought 
him back with the colors. Upon our return to the city the 
remaining companies of the regiment were brought up, and 
the regiment re-formed. The colors were entrusted to me. 
About noon we were in line of battle for the charge which 
carried the stone wall and the heights beyond. I was 
among the first upon the wall with the colors, and kept 
them flying until we reached the top of the heights and the 
enemy were routed. 

" In the afternoon we pressed forward, after having re- 
formed our columns, to Salem Church or Heights, about 
four miles to the rear of Marye's Heights, where, in a belt 
of woods, our advance became engaged with what we sup- 
posed to be the rear guard of the enemy. We afterwards 
learned that it was a part of Lee's forces on their return 
from Chancellorsville. The 62d Regiment was in the sec- 
ond line of battle supporting a battery, with its right rest- 
ing on the road from Fredericksburg. Generals Newton 
and Wheaton were close by, mounted. Suddenly our boys 
came in hurried retreat from the woods, followed by tlije 
enemy in good form. I was at that time in front of the 
line waving the colors, when, on turning to the right, I 
observed a line of the enemy emerging from a belt of woods 
in that direction, and called the colonel's attention to it. 
While doing so I was wounded in the side. The colonel 
noticed that I was wounded and suggested my retirement 
to the rear. But the boys were coming across the wide 
open between the woods and our line, and I remained with 
colors open so that they might know they had something 



26 '' FIGHTIXG JOE'S" ME. V. 

to rally about, and to show the enemy that we were not in 
a panic. I remained at my post until the boys had crossed 
the open and were within our lines, and .the enemy had 
been brought to a halt by our fire. Then the colonel, C. 
B. Hamilton (God bless him ! a nobler man never breathed), 
commanded me to give up the colors and get to the hos- 
pital. I transferred the colors — they were not dropped, but 
held up while being transferred — to a noble fellow, who 
afterwards fell under them ; and after the enemy's line was 
broken and they had retired to the woods whence they 
came, late in the afternoon, I went to the field hospital. 
On the following day I crossed to the left bank of tiie river, 
and from a safe position, in the stone house which served as 
a hospital, I saw the battle. 

" I returned to my regiment as soon as my wound healed, 
and was with it in all engagements up to the fight before 
Washington in '64. I was made sergeant and a commission 
w'as offered me, but I declined the latter through lack of 
appreciation of its worth. I was breveted 2d and ist 
Lieutenant and Captain in New York Volunteers." 

Headquarters 30 Brigade, 3D Division, 6th Corps, 
Camp near Falmouth, Va., May 27, 1863. 
Sir: In compliance with General Orders 53, Par. i, Headquarters Army of 
the Potomac, I have the honor to forward a list of officers, non-commissioned 
officers and privates, whose gallantry and merit were conspicuous and worthy of 
especial notice during the recent battles at Fredericksburg and Salem Heights, 
May 3 and 4, 1S63. 
62d New York Vols., commanded by Lieut.-Col. Chas. B. Hamilton. 

Corporal Edward Browne, Co. " G," is recommended for a " medal " and 
" honorable mention " for good conduct at Fredericksburg and Salem Heights, 
May 3 and 4, 1863. In the second battle. May 4, near Salem Heights, Cor- 



SERGEANT BROWNE'S CREDENTIALS. 27 

poral Browne, who carried the colors of his regiment, was severely wounded, 

but continued at his post under fire until positively ordered to the rear by his 

regimental commander. 

Very resp'y your obt. svt., 

(signed) Frank Wheaton, 

Gen. S. Williams, Brig.-Genl. U. S. A. 

A. A. G. Army of the Potomac. 



A REGIMENTAL CERTIFICATE. 

This is to certify that Sergt. Edward Browne was a member of the 62d 
N. Y. Vols., and during all the time the regiment served he was a brave and 
efficient soldier. He was promoted from private to rank of color-sergeant for 
courage and meritorious conduct on many a field of battle, and was commended 
in general orders for personal bravery at " Salem Heights." He was offered 
a commission during the latter part of the campaign, but refused to accept it, 
preferring rather to remain among his comrades, the non-commissioned staff 
and privates with whom he had so gallantly won his promotion, than to enter 
the ranks of commissioned officers. 

I would gladly recommend him to any military position, knowing from expe- 
rience and personal knowledge he will fill it both with honor to himself and ser- 
vice to the cause. 

(signed) Sam. C. Stewart, 

Late Adjt. Gid N. Y. S. Vols. 

Sergeant Browne has achieved an honorable position in 
civil life, and is now (1886) a Justice of the City Court of 
New York. 



28 



'' FIGHTING JOE'S"' MEN. 



II. FEELING FOR A " STONE WALL." 

After the famous Southern general, 
Stonewall Jackson, had with character- 
istic energy and skill attacked the right 
flank of General Hooker's army and 
caused the troops of an entire corps to 
retreat in confusion, it became necessary 
to send out scouting parties in the dense 
wilderness at night, to find the enemy. 
One of these parties was sent out by 
direction of General Berry, from the 74th 
New York Infantry. Captain F. E. Tyler 
writes : " As the corps (3d) to which my 
regiment was attached did not arrive at 
Chancellorsville for some time after the 
main army, we were put in reserve a 
short distance back^ of the main line and 
?> , near the road from the U. S. Ford. About 
r:./'>4 P.M. the nth Corps w^as broken by 
SERGEANT LUTY. Stonewall Jackson and fell back in great 

SEVENTY-FOURTH N. V. V. . . ^ , _ _ 

contusion. General Hooker ordered up 
our division (Hooker's old division) to retake the line from 
which the nth was driven. As we marched out we found 
the roads and woods full of the fleeing nth Corps, and had 
to charge bayonets to clear a passage. We regained the 
original line of the i ith Corps without much trouble, and 
immediately proceeded to cut down trees to fortify our 
position. I was then the senior captain of the regiment 
and acting major. During the day General Sickles, who 




FELIX BRANNIGAN. 



29 



commanded our corps (the 3d), had two divisions of the 
corps, well out in front of our main lines, scouting, and 
at the time of the break of the nth had not to our knowl- 
edge returned ; there were also other troops well advanced 
in front of our main lines, observing the movements of the 
enemy. So it seemed important to know just what was in- 
our front, and also to find out what had become of the 
troops of Stonewall Jackson. Some time about midnight 
General Revere, who commanded our (Sickles') brigade, 
rode down our line, and stopping at my regiment, asked 
for the colonel. As he could not be readily found at that 
time he was referred to me, and stopping, asked me if I 
knew what troops of the enemy were in our front, or if 
there were any. I mentioned the fact that it was reported 
that the ist and 3d divisions of our corps were in front; 
also the rumor that the Irish Brigade had been sent out in 
that direction. He then told me that it was of the utmost 
importance to know what was in front, and ordered me to 
pick out some trusty men and send them out to get the 
best information they could. I went to my old company 
(A), and called for Felix Brannigan, who had been with 
me all during the war, and whom I knew from long expe- 
rience to be a cool, courageous, intelligent soldier. I told 
him what I wanted, gave him my ideas as to how to get 
out of the lines and what to do, and suggested the other 
men whom he should take along. They went in twos, 
each in a different direction, having to pass our own pick- 
ets and presumably those of the enemy, make their way 
stealthily through the thickets and swamps and go until 
they found troops in front ; either ours or of the enemy. 



,0 " FIGHTING JOFS'' MEN. 

They had all returned by daylight, coming in at different 
times, the last man coming in being JOS. GlON, who was 
out so long I greatly feared his death or capture. They 
reported that they had gone a considerable distance when 
they came to 'an open,' which was occupied by a large body 
' of troops ; by laying low and getting as near as possible to 
the troops, who were camped close to the woods, they 
found they were Stonewall Jackson's men, and that they 
intended to make a determined effort at daylight to break 
through where they broke the nth Corps the day before, 
and push on and secure possession of the roads leading to 
U. S. Ford, thereby hoping to effect a capture of a large 
portion of the Federal army. To prove the importance of 
this scout, shortly after daylight Jackson's troops, then led 
by Stuart (Jackson had fallen during the night), charged 
our works, where we held them for, say two hours, when 
we fell back and formed a new and shorter line just back 
of the Chancellorsville house. During this fight my colonel 
and lieutenant-colonel were both seriously wounded, and 
I was in command during the latter part of the battle. 
After we returned to our camp across the river. General 
Hooker ordered that each commanding officer report such 
men as were conspicuous for good conduct. Under these 
circumstances I made a detailed report to General Hooker's 
adjutant-gene- al, and the men were awarded medals." 

Gottlieb Luty, one of the men selected for this haz- 
ardous service, and 'w^iose portrait, taken from a war-time 
photograph, heads this account, says : 

"On the afternoon in May, 1863, when the Eleventh 
Corps was driven back. General Hooker ordered the second 



GOTTLIEB LUTY. ^I 

division of the Third Corps to take their place. We ad- 
vanced and took their old position, which we reached about 
dark. While lying there we heard firing in front, and Gen- 
eral Berry, supposing that some of the nth Corps were 
still in advance yet, asked Colonel Lonesberry of the 74th 
N. Y, if he had one or two men who would volunteer to 
go out and see if any were there, and find out what position 
the rebels were in. There were four of Company A, viz.: 
Felix Brannigan, Henry Bierman, Jos. Gion and 
myself, and Sergt, -Major Jacobson, who volunteered to 
go. We divided into two squads, Brannigan and myself 
going together, the others going by themselves in a differ- 
ent direction. We advanced outside the outposts, prob- 
ably fifty yards, close to the plank-road. We heard horses 
coming down the plank-road. We concluded to drop and 
await developments. They came down to within fifteen 
yards of us. When the firing commenced it appeared to 
come from all sides at the same time. I could not tell 
from what quarter it started. We found out by the talk 
that it was a body of rebels that rode down, and I 
think probably it was Gen. Jackson and staff, as we heard 
them say the general was shot just after the firing 
ceased. As there was only one round fired, we had a good 
chance to hear all. After the rebels withdrew, we got up 
and concluded to go back to our lines, but lost our way 
and got among the rebels. They were terribly excited 
about General Jackson being shot. All was confusion. 
So we quietly withdrew, as it was not very healthy for us 
there. We reached our lines about 3 o'clock in the morn- 
ing. We then heard that General Berry had followed us 



32 



'' FIGHTING JOE'S'' MEN. 



out and was wounded, and before he died he requested 
that if any of the men that went out got back they be 
rewarded for their services. The others returned later in 
the morning. We then fell back over the Rappahannock 
to Falmouth." 





MAJOR WILLIAM B. HINCKS» 
FOURTEENTH CONN. INFANTRY. 



MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

A MIDSUMMER night's dream. At least all the ma- 
terials were there. The moon bathing the corn and 
Avheat with mellow light ; the faint sound of church bells 
wafted over the meadows from the neighboring town ; 
the low, sweet notes of the whip-poor-will and the ceaseless 
murmur of the brook ; and last, but necessary ingredient, 
a young girl. 

These pleasant sights and sounds centred in a lovely spot 
in the suburbs of the now historic town of Gettysburg, 
near the Emmittsburg road. Here upon a little crest 
stood, a few days before the great battle, a modest farm- 
house, surrounded by out-buildings bearing the usual Penn- 
sylvania proportion to the size of the mansion ; the great 
red barn, with its gothic windows framed in white, being 
the best sign of the owner's prosperity. With the excep- 
3 33 




34 



AN AMERICAN GIRL. 



55 



tion of a few fine old trees which shaded the house, there 
was but little timber on the farm. In front of the house, 
on the brow of the hill, a huge rock jutted out toward the' 
south ; its top was moss-covered, but level as a table, and 
guarded, sentinel-like, by two large willow trees ; between 
them swung idly a hammock, within which, half reclining, 
and with her face turned southward, was the maiden of the 
dream. 




THE DIETRICH FARM. 

Elinor Dietrich was a true American girl. Her father, 
a hard-fisted, prosperous - Pennsylvania Dutchman," had 
married, some twenty years before, the pretty daughter of 
a Lutheran clergyman, who had lived and labored and died 
in the somewhat barren vineyard of a country parish, where 
thistles grew more plentifully than grapes. In the only 
child the virtues of the parents seemed reproduced : the 
courage and self-reliance of the father, the patience, forti- 
tude and physical beauty of the mother. At an early age 
she had been sent to a famous Philadelphia school, where 
girls were not only taught the accomplishments, but also 



36 



MAKS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 



the domestic arts of life, and where the experienced princi- 
pal, herself a mother, took some of her pupils into her 
heart as well as under her roof. Elinor was one of the 
favored few, and when she returned home — " finished " — it 
was a pure, true-hearted woman who was clasped to her 
mother's breast. From a child she had been fond of out- 
door life, and before she went away to boarding-school 
could ride the wildest colt on the place, and bring down a 
partridge on the wing with her father's best double gun, 
whenever she could persuade him to let her share in the 
sport. But in all this there was no sign of the hoyden — no 
tom-boy manner. 

Although Elinor was only nineteen, she was not heart- 
whole. Three years before, she had met a young student 
from North Carolina. He was good-looking, clever, and 
after due inquiry was permitted to become a suitor. He 
had made a long visit at the Dietrich homestead, and all 
seemed smooth sailing, when the guns at Sumter, regard- 
less of lovers' knots and lovers' sighs, called Frank Arden 
to what he termed "the defence of the Old North State." 
So the usual vows were exchanged and the youth departed 
for the Confederacy. More than two years had passed. If 
love laughs at locksmiths, he certainly has but scant respect 
for picket lines. At intervals a letter found its way from 
the far South where Frank (now an infantry captain) was 
fighting the invader. One day Elinor received a billet from 
Richmond, and the writer spoke of the rumor that General 
Lee would make " an excursion into Pennsylvania som.e of 
these days," and hoped that it might come to pass. And 
Lee Jiad come, but Arden's regiment passed by on the 



BUFORD OFEXS THE BALL. 



37 



other side of the county and it seemed a case of " hope 
deferred." 

As Elinor mused over the^e things, Carlo, her pet terrier, 
lifted up his shrill voice in a warning bark. Shuffling foot- 
steps came across the lawn and a voice, strangely familiar, 
said : 

" Heh ! HI dog, wha' fo' you go back on yo' frens ? " 

Elinor sprang to her feet. 

" Jim, is it you ? " 

" Yesm — yes, Mis Elinor; got somfin fum Mars Frank. 
Tole me to put it in yo own hans." 

And the dusty, travel-worn negro, diving into the pocket 
of his jacket, drew out a letter on once white paper. 

BUFORD OPEXS THE BALL. 

The clock in the tower of the Seminary marked the hour 
of eight. The morning of a day famous in the annals of 
American history had arrived — the first day of the battle 
of Gettysburg. And yet, at the moment, there was but lit- 
tle sign of war in the landscape, as it lay spread out, smiling 
and placid as far as one could see. Just in front of the 
town a few hundred horsemen were resting under tempo- 
rary shelters of canvas or lounging under the trees, while 
their horses impatiently stamped at the flies or, motionless, 
drew in deep draughts of the clover-scented air. They be- 
longed to Buford's division of the cavalry corps, Army of 
the Potomac ; of that army they were supposed to be the 
eyes and ears ; their duty to keep both wide open in the 
direction of the enemy; to report his plans and movements, 
to delay his advance and to hang upon his rear in retreat ; 
and, besides, to do a multitude of things not usually re- 



38 



MAKS AXD CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 



quired of cavalry (in the books), but which are apt to fall to 
the lot of brave, zealous, and intelligent soldiers — horse or 
foot — who happen to be on the spot in an emergenc}'. 

All this passed through the mind of the advanced vidette 
on the Cashtown road, about two miles west of Gettysburg, 

He was a bright young 
farmer from Illinois, and 
a dragoon of nearl}' three 
years' service ; it was long 
since he had seen so fer- 
tile a vale as that spread 
out before him, and in 
fanc}'hesaw the old home 
farm and wondered how 
the crops compared with 
those at his feet. But 
he kept his military e}'e 
" peeled," and his large 
ears open at the same 
time. His position on a 
knoll, in the edge of a 
grove, commanded a view 
of the road for several 
miles in the direction of 
Chambersburg. Private Kelly had good eyesight, and as 
he looked down the road for the hundredth time since go- 
ing on post that morning, his eye rested longer than usual 
on an object about three miles away. 

A moment decided him as to its nature ; it was undoubt- 
edly a horseman, but whether friend or foe it was impossi- 




THE CONFEDERATE ADVAXCE. 



39 



ble to tell. Another glance revealed three — six — a platoon 
at least, moving slowly along at a walk. The man first 
seen kept in the middle of the road ; a hundred yards be- 
hind him rode another cavalier ; at a similar distance in 
rear came four or five men, riding together, with one in 
front who seemed to be in command. Private Kelly was 
much interested in the spectacle ; he braced up in his sad- 
dle, drew his horse back into the shadow of the wood, and 




THE ADVANCE GUARD. 

took another look. The leading horseman had disappeared 
in a little gorge through which a small stream filtered un- 
der a few boards crossing the road, and as the breeze came 
from that direction it bore the muffled sound of hoofs to 
the alert Union picket. And now a larger party of horse- 
men, perhaps twenty, came within his vision and the flash- 
ing of something in the sunlight suggested an armed party; 
on either side of the road and a little in advance of these 
could also be seen three or four mounted men moving 
across the fields in open order. Private Kelly could not 
tell whether these visitors were likely to be welcome or not, 
and very properly concluded to transfer the responsibility 
to other shoulders. In rear of the little clump of trees 



^O MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

there was an open spot, plainly visible to his " reserve," and 
not exposed to anyone coming from Cashtown. Kelly v/as 
there in a moment, riding his horse rapidly in a circle and 
putting his cap on the muzzle of his carbine as a signal 
that something was wrong. Instantly this was seen by the 
sentry in front of the picket-guard, and in another moment 
a corporal was galloping to the front. " What is it, 
Kelly?" The vidette silently pointed down the road. 
The horsemen were now only two miles off, but some 
distance in their rear was a column of footmen, well closed 
up, with a cloud of skirmishers in front, extending for a 
hundred yards on both sides of the road, 

" Johnnies I and doughboys "^ at that, — it must be a divis- 
ion at least," said the corporal. "Well, Kelly, you know 
what to do , stay out as long as you can, but don't let them 
gobble you. I'll report to the lieutenant ; " and back the 
corporal sped with the news. 

" Honest John," as the commander f of the First Cavalry 
Division was affectionately called by his troopers, was sit- 
ting on a camp-stool under an old elm tree, which did duty as 
headquarters, taking his after-breakfast smoke. The mod- 
est brier-wood pipe was as much a part of his equipment as 
the blue hunting-shirt which General Buford invariably 
wore in the field. The general was not much of a talker, 
at least in mixed society, and in this respect resembled the 
Great Captain who sleeps so quietly at Riverside. Nothing 
escaped his keen eye, ^nd none was more ready to recognize 
merit in others cw slower to push his own claims for pro- 
motion. 



* Cavalry slang tor the infantry. 
+ Maior-General John Buford. 



THE FIRST DAY'S FIGHT. 



41 



A staff-officer rode up, dismounted, and saluting the gen- 
eral reported that the pickets of Gamble's Brigade had just 
observed the enemy in some force, advancing on the Cash- 
town road. The Chief took one or two meditative puffs, 
and then removing his pipe said, " Give my compliments 
to Colonel Gamble, and tell him to move out with his com- 
mand and meet the enemy ; we mu«t keep him out of the 




(;ettvs1!Urg. — first day. 



town as long as possible. Tell the colonel to keep me 
posted as to the enemy's movements from time to time." 

In ten minutes Gamble's Brigade — the 8th New York, 8th 
Illinois, and part of the 3d Indiana and 12th Illinois regi- 
ments of cavalry — about 1900 strong, with Tidball's Bat- 
tery of the 2d U. S. Artillery under Lieutenant Calef, was 
moving into position. Three squadrons, part dismounted, 




MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN BUFORD. 
FIRST CAVALRY DIVISION, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, 



42 



KEEPING RESERVED SEATS. 



43 



were sent to the front and deployed as skirmishers to sup- 
port the squadron on picket, then falHng back slowly. Two 
of Calef's three-inch rifled guns were placed dn each side of 
the road, and two on the right of the left regiment of cav- 
alry. The enemy cautiously approached in column on the 
road with three extended lines on each flank, and the artil- 
lery and skirmishers became engaged. Soon the cavalry 
were forced back, giving ground very slowly considering 
that the little cavalry brigade was standing up against three 
divisions of infantry — veterans of the Army of Northern 
Virginia. For more than two hours this unequal contest 
was w^ged. Under the eye of one of the best cavalry 
fighters in the world, the Union troopers surpassed all 
previous efforts. In Buford's own words, " the brigade had 
to be literally dragged back " a few hundred yards to a 
position more secure and better sheltered ; at one time the 
enemy had a concentric fire upon the battery from twelve 
guns, all at short range. Calef held his own gloriously, 
worked his guns deliberately, wdth great judgment and 
skill, and with wonderful effect upon the enemy. Even 
when the advance of the First Corps came up, so thor- 
oughly had the horsemen warmed to their work, by fighting 
on foot, that some of the 3d Indiana Cavalry found horse- 
holders, borrowed muskets and fought side by side with 
the Wisconsin regiment of infantry which came to relieve 
them. But the work of the cavalry in keeping " reserved 
seats " for the grand bull fight was not yet over. Heavy 
masses of the enemy were advancing upon Gettysburg 
from the north and west. General Buford stemmed the 
hostile torrent on the northern side with Devin's Brigade 



44 MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

until the arrival of the Eleventh Corps, when, perceiving 
that the portion of the First Corps then engaged was sorely 
pressed, he sent Gamble's Brigade to the left of General 
Doubleday's line. It arrived at a critical moment and 
rendered invaluable service. Dropping behind a low stone 
fence, Gamble's dismounted men delivered, at short range, 
a repeating-carbine fire that was perfectly terrific and 
caused the enemy to recoil, temporarily discomfited. 

And now General Hancock arrived on the field and 
assumed command, and as the great army corps came 
up they were assigned to positions. Both armies — Lee 
with more than 70,000 and Meade with more than 80,000 
soldiers, the flower of American manhood — now prepared 
for a terrible struggle. The character of the battle of 
Gettysburg, the magnificent display of courage and en- 
durance on both sides, and the nearly equal conditions as 
to leaders and numbers engaged,- shows that the result de- 
pended largely on position. The result was therefore prac- 
tically decided in favor of the Union army when John Bu- 
ford selected and held on to the ground where the battle 
was fought. Well could he modestly report that " a heavy 
task was before us; we were equal to it and shall all re- 
member with pride that at Gettysburg we did our country 
much service* 

JOHN BURNS' FIGHT. 

In the lull of the fighting came a strange figure upon the 
battlefield. A farmer-like person with homespun clothes 
of an ancient cut, well patched and darned, carrying in his 
hand an old Kentucky rifle with an immensely long barrel, 



fOHN BURNS. 



4S 



and weighing almost as much as a Hght field-gun. Ap- 
proaching the commanding officer of a Pennsylvania brig- 
ade, he asked permission to go on the skirmish line. After 
vain attempts to dissuade the old man, he was finally 
allowed to join the soldiers in the front, where he remained 




JOHN BURNS. 

during the entire battle, picking off the Confederates from 
time to time as he saw a chance, utterly unmindful of the 
bullets which buzzed about his ears. 

This man was John Burns, a resident of Gettysburg. 
Bret Harte tells the story in verse, from which an extract 
may be proper : 

" Have you heard the story the gossips tell 
Of John Burns, of Gettysburg ? No ? Ah, well, 
Brief is the glory that hera earns, 
Briefer the story of poor John Burns ; 
He was the fellow who won renown — 



46 MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

The only man who didn't back down 
W;,en the rebels rode through his native town; 
But held his own in the fight next day, 
When all his townsfolk ran away. 
That was in July, sixty-three — 
The very day that General Lee, 
The flower of Southern chivalry. 
Baffled and beaten, backward reeled 
From a stubborn Meade and a barren field. 
********* 
How do you think the man was dressed ? 
He wore an ancient, long, buff vest — 
Yellow as saffron, but his best ; 
And buttoned over his manly breast 
Was a bright blue coat with a rolling collar 
And large gilt buttons — size of a dollar — 
With tails that country-folk call " svvaller." 
He wore a broad-brimmed bell-crowned hat, 
White as the locks on which it sat. 
********* 
Close at his elbows, all that day, 
Veterans of the Peninsula, 
Suninirnt and bearded, charged awav, 
And striplings, downy of lip and chin — 
Clerks that the Home Guard mustered in — 
Glanced, as they passed, at the hat he wore, 
Theii at the rifle his right hand bOre. 
And hailed him, from out their jouthful lore, 
W^ith scraps of a slangy repertoire : 
" How are you, White Hat ? " " Put her through ! " 
" Your head's level ! " and " Bully for you !" 
Called him " Daddy," and begged he'd disclose 
The name of the tailor who made his clothes. 
And what was the value he set on those ; 
While Burns, unmindful of jeer and scoff. 
Stood there picking the rebels off — 
With his long brown rifle and bell-crown hat 
And the swallow-tails they were laughing at. 



■FLEEING FROM THE WRATHr 



47 



'Twas but a moment : for that respect 

Which clothes all courage their voices checked; 

And something the wildest could understand 

Spake in the old man's strong right hand, 

And his corded throat, and the lurking frown 

Of his eyebrows under his old bell-crown ; 

Until, as they gazed, there crept an awe 

Through the ranks, in whispers, and some men saw, 

In the antique vestments and long white hair, 

The Past of the Nation in battle there."' 

"FLEEING FROM THE WRATH." 

On the morning of Bu- 
ford's cavalry affair, Elinor 
was sitting with her moth- 
er underthe willows. The 
old lady was knitting away 
upon a vyoollen sock of 
liberal dimensions, a pros- 
pective addition to the 
wardrobe of the ancient 
Dietrich. Elinor occupied 
a substantial old-fashioned 
arm-chair, and pensively 
toyed with Carlo's ears. 
\ With a slicrht si^h Mrs. 
Dietrich said : " Dear me, 
L when will this terrible 
fighting be over? So far 
we have escaped, but no 
one can tell when the soldiers may come here. B}- the way, 
Elinor, have you any news from the South?" 




48 MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

This was Mother Dietrich's way of asking: " Have you 
heard from Frank ?" And her daughter therefore replied : 

"Yes, mother. He writes that he is on the march from 
Carhsle, and hopes he may have an opportunity of seeing 
us on their way back to Virginia. But of course he can't 
tell — they may not come within many miles." 

"Well, my child, we must be patient and hope for the 
best." 

A heavy report, as of thunder, broke the stillness ; it was. 
followed by a distant explosion. Both of the ladies rose, 
and hurried to the northern side of the house, from which 
they had a partial view of the artillery duel in front of the 
Seminary. 

Farmer Dietrich appeared. He was a large, heavy per- 
son, a " Peace-at-any-price " man, who took no interest in 
the issues at stake except as they directly concerned him- 
self. He had tried to steer a middle course, with the re- 
sult that he was looked upon with suspicion by both sec- 
tions of the people. He now seemed somewhat excited. 

" Mother, you and Nell will have to go over to Henry's, 
until this thing blows over; they tell me there's likely to 
be a bifj battle ridit around here, and the womenfolks had 
better get ready at once. The wagon will be around in a 
quarter of an hour." 

Being women of action, no time was wasted in specula- 
tion or lamentation. Within the speciiied time, trunks 
were packed, many valuable things were thrown hastily 
into large baskets and made ready for removal ; for it was 
impossible to conjecture the fate of the house in the event, 
of a battle. Much fine old furniture, too heavy to move, 



THE D/ETRICH CAVALCADE. ^q 

was left behind, including an old Dutch clock, which had 
ticked away, without stop or falter, for nearly a hundred 
years. 

The six-seated Germantown wagon, drawn by two fat 
horses, was quickly filled by the family and the " women- 
folks " — excepting Aunt Chloe, the cook, who, perched 
upon the top of her own precious trunk in one of the light 
farm wagons, with a band-box of generous dimensions h\ 
one hand and a huge red bandanna bundle in the other^ 
presented, to all whom it might concern, an example of 
monumental dignity hard to equal and impossible to sur- 
pass. 

The Dietrich cavalcade moved down the Emmittsburg 
road with a view of getting within the Federal lines if possi- 
ble. First, the proprietor on one of his best horses, a colt 
with which he hoped to take a prize at the next county 
fair ; then came the Germantown with its fair freight — 
Elinor, pale but composed, and occupied with comforting 
her mother. By the side of the carriage ran Carlo, who 
looked on the whole thing as a picnic ; then four wagons 
of various sizes, laden with an assortment of ploughs, pro- 
visions, pots and pans, and the odds and ends of farm equip- 
ment ; and, last of all, a small herd of cattle. As they 
reached the summit of a long hill Elinor turned to look at 
the deserted homestead. The familiar spot never looked 
so beautiful ; the house in which she was born, the great 
barn, the scene of so many frolics, the willows weeping in 
silence — all stood out sharply against the smoke of the bat- 
tle, now waxing hot in the background. 

The refugees had almost reached a turning to the east- 
4 



50 



MARS AXD CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 



ward which would give them a good road to Taneytown 
and safety, and EHnor's father was beginning to breathe 
more freely, when just ahead he saw a mounted man with a 
carbine resting on his knee. Making a sign to his coach- 
man to stop, Dietrich rode forward. 

" Halt ! " said the soldier. " Whar }ou uns goin ? " 

" I am taking my family to a safe place until the fighting 
is over," was the reply. 

" Wal, reck'n '1 hev to turn yo all over to the Looten't, 
so keep right along o' me ; " and the procession moved. 
" Likely critter that," said their captor. 

The farmer's heart sank within -him. To use his own 
words, he " had jumped from the fryin'-pan into the fire." 

Soon they came upon the commander of the picket-guard. 
This officer was very civil, but sent them a mile further to 
the headquarters of the scouting party to which he be- 
longed. Here Captain Jones of the Confederate cavalry 
kindly exchanged some of his own spare-ribbed steeds for 
the farmer's plump animals ; relieved the wagons of a few 
sacks of oats and flitches of bacon for immediate consump- 
tion ; turned over the cattle and wagons to the quarter- 
master of the expedition ; permitted the family to retain 
the Germantown wagon, now drawn by two exhausted cav- 
alry horses with " U. S." branded on their shoulders ; re- 
quested Mr. Dietrich not to move further for one hour; left 
a corporal and one man to see that he should not forget, 
and after apologies- to the ladies for any inconvenience 
which they might suffer from this change in their plans, 
touched his cap and departed. 

The Army of the Potomac was posted with its centre 



THE THIRD DAY'S BATTLE. rj 

upon a high crest on the southern edge of Gettysburg, 
called Cemetery Hill; from this spot the right of the line 
extended toward the east, and lay on the north of the Bal- 
timore pike; from the Cemetery Hill the line occupied the 
crest of a ridge which, broken by clumps of trees, extended 
southward for nearly two miles to a high and rocky peak 
called " Round Top," forming the extreme left of General 
Meade's position. 

The Army of Northern Virginia occupied a ridge nearly 
parallel to the Union line, but not so high and with more 
timber on its crest. These two lines of battle were sepa- 
rated "by low broken ground, at a distance of from half a 
mile to a mile. 

The farm buildings stood between the lines and a little 
south of the Union centre. The buildings were first occu- 
pied by the rebel sharpshooters, who began to annoy the 
Yankee skirmish line. Finally a rush was made by a New 
Jersey regiment, which drove out the occupants and cap- 
tured eighty of their number. This was a brief triumph ; a 
fresh body of Southrons attacked the building, and again 
planted the " Stars and Bars " over the farm-house. Thrice 
was this combat repeated until night, v^^hen both sides took 
a rest. 

THE THIRD DAY AT GETTYSBURG. 

At dawn on the third day of the conflict a noisy fire from 
Lee's artillery began. The battle of the previous day had 
been most furious at Cemetery Hill and at the Round 
Tops. Twice it seemed as if the Confederate army would 
overwhelm the troops defending those points. General 



£2 MAKS AND CUFID AT GETTYSBURG. 

Lee now determined to make his final effort to dislodge his 
enemy by a direct assault upon the centre of his position. 
The — th North Carolina Infantry (or " The Pine Knots," 
as they had been christened, on account of certain tough 
quahties) were aroused at an early hour on July 3, 1863. 
While it was yet dark the colonel had sent for Captain 
Arden of his regiment. A tall, muscular young man, 
bronzed to an old-oak color, with strong features, dark eyes 
and hair worn in cavalier fashion, appeared and saluted. 

"Arden, the regiment is ordered to re-occupy those build- 
ings in our front as quietly as possible, so as to be in posi- 
tion by daylight. I want you to take your company and 
occupy the farm-house. Jackson's company will go forward 
to the barn. The rest of the regiment will support you. 
It may be that we shall find the Yankees there before us; 
in that case we must try to bag them if possible." 

" Very good, Colonel ; is that all ? " 

"Yes ; take care of yourself." 

Captain Arden had been a witness to the warfare at the 
Dietrich homestead on the previous day. He felt certain 
that Elinor had gone away, but where ? and how ? Had 
she reached a place of safety, or was she exposed to the 
horrors and dangers of the campaign? 

At the appointed time the " Pine Knots " crept forward, 
Arden's company leading. To avoid injuring each other, 
a special countersign was agreed upon. The precautions 
proved unnecessary ; the buildings were unoccupied and 
the regiment established itself unmolested. 

The force at the house was under Captain Arden's com- 
mand, and as soon as he had made everything secure out- 



A RUINED HOMESTEAD. 53 

side, he entered the famiHar doorway. What a ruin ! 
Shattered windows, bullet-holed walls, blood-stained floors ; 
the old clock battered and silent ; it was impossible to con- 
ceive of the destruction that one day could encompass. 
Arden found the heavy oaken door leading into the cellar 
closed, and fastened on the inside. Calling some men to 
his aid, it was soon broken open. As the eyes of the party 
became accustomed to the light, they saw in one corner a 
curious heap of boxes and barrels ; peering behind this, one 
of the men exclaimed: " Cap'n, thar's a nigger hidin' in 
that corner — come out'n that." 

" Ise comin', seh," said a smothered sort of voice, as amid 
laughter and a cloud of dust from the flour bin in which he 
had been lying, Jim appeared. 

" Why, Jim, what are you doing here?" said Captain 
Arden. 

The negro chuckled. " Tell de truf, Mars Frank, couldn't 
git away. When de family done gone I tink go'n git some 
sleep — hant had none two'r tree day. When I wuk up dey 
wus at it. Hamr end tongs ! how dey did bang an' fight an' 
groan, en it seem t'me dat I bes lay low entil dey was less 
'citement." 

" What did you have to eat ?" asked some one. 

" Dey was right sm'at meat an pie lef, but powerful dry 
fo' watah — only vinegar an' sich," said the boy. Taking 
him aside, Arden soon had the news of the flitting as well 
as a short note from Elinor, penned as she was leaving, and 
entrusted to the boy. Jim was a free negro who had be- 
come attached to Arden long before, when on a visit to the 



54 



MARS AND CUPJD AT GETTYSBURG. 



farm, and had gone South with the young soldier as a body 
servant. 

On the Union 'side, and occupying an advanced position 
in front of the right of the Second Corps, were two regi- 
ments of infantry: the 14th Connecticut and the 8th Ohio. 

About 10 o'clock the fire from Arden's sharpshooters be- 
came so annoying that the Connecticut regiment was or- 




CONFEDERATE SHARPSHOOTER. 



dered to drive them away and hold the buildings. Captain 
Moore, with four companies, moved forward against the 
barn. Instantly the " Pine Knots " behind the stone A\all 
poured a volley into them, and two officers and several men 
were seen to drop. But, with a cheer, the Connecticut 
" boys " rushed on and over the wall, and at the same time 
a canister shot ploughed its way into the barn and exploded, 
wounding several of the Confederates. Major Ellis of the 
Fourteenth, with the greater part of his regiment, now at- 
tacked the house. Here there was a stout resistance. The 
assaulting party were met with a sharp fire from the posi- 



PICKETT'S GRAND CHARGE. re 

tion defended by Arden's men. But the New Englanders, 
having come so far on their errand, did not propose to re- 
tire, and availed themselves of the cover of the barn. 

In the mean while they noted the tall form of a young 
rebel ofificer moving unconcernedly to and fro behind his 
men, encouraging them and occasionally correcting the aim 
of a nervous marksman. Several shots were taken at him 
by the Union sharpshooters without effect. And now the 
Connecticut men rushed forward on both sides of the be- 
leaguered domicile. Even veterans cannot stand before a 
flank attack, and so the " Pine Knots " fell back sullenly. 

All this took place during a pause in the general opera- 
tions. It was a sort of tournament. Orders came to burn 
the buildings, and so Major Ellis applied the torch to 
everything that would burn, and in an hour the Dietrich 
homestead was a smoking ruin.* 

PICKETT'S GRAND CHARGE. 

About two o'clock in the afternoon a heavy cannonade 
was opened from one hundred and fifteen pieces of Lee's 
artillery upon the Union front and centre ; like the blows 
of a great steam-hammer, shot and shell fell for nearly 
three hours. At half past four o'clock, the firing ceased as 
suddenly as it commenced. Across the plain came with 
measured tread, elbow to elbow, three long lines, fifteen 
thousand strong, the flower of the Southern army, com- 
manded by a gallant Virginian— General Pickett. Their 
purpose was evident ; they were about to assault and risk 

* The site of this exploit was purchased by the Fourteenth Connecticut Veterans after 
the war, and a Memorial Stone marks the spot. 



56 'MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

ev^erything on the cast of a die. General Hunt had massed 
fresh batteries in the rear of the Second Corps, and soon 
they were pouring destruction into the enemy, each moment 
coming nearer. But on they came, until those on the cem- 
etery crest could almost see, as in olden times, " the whites 
of their eyes." With flags unfurled and floating proudly, 
the undaunted assailants pressed forward. Round shot 
ploughed furrows, shell and canister tore great gaps in their 
lines, but the furrows disappeared and the gaps were in- 
stantly filled from the rear. Stannard's Vermont brigade 
was in position so that it commanded the right flank of the 
approaching division, and it fired two or three volleys, with 
the effect only of causing the enemy to crowd a little more 
to the left. It seemed as if this huge wave must reach 
and sweep over the Union army, when nothing might stay 
Lee's triumphant march to Philadelphia. But the com- 
mander at the threatened point was equal to this emer- 
gency. As the Confederates were within two hundred 
yards, six thousand men of the Army of the Potomac rose 
from behind the low stone walls, and full in the faces of the 
advancing host burst forth a sheet of flame. Voile}- after 
volley roared and rattled and blazed into what had been 
such a brilliant array of banners and bayonets. Nothing 
living could withstand the effect. As with a scythe the 
gray-brown rows were literally mown down in this great 
harvest of Death ! With this relentless musketry in front 
and their own artillery a mile in their rear, now playing on 
friend and foe alike, there seemed nothing for them to do 
but to drop down and be gathered in by the Union troops. 
On the left of Pickett's line hundreds threw themselves flat, 



THE HIGH-WATER MARK. 



57 



wavang in token of surrender hats, handkerchiefs or naked 
hands. Others would not yet yield, but while avaihng 
themseh^es of any cover that offered, planted their colors in 
the earth and crouched behind and under them at bay.* 

In spite of this hot reception the main part of the as- 
saulting force, led by General Armistead, dashed through 
the Avithering fire and reached the Union centre. The blue 
flae of Virginia waved for a few moments over the Union 



j:> 







WHERE PICKETT S CHARGE ENDED. 



lines, and it was said by more than one cool spectator at 
other parts of General Meade's line, " Our centre is 
pierced." The Confederate general laid his hand upon a 
captured Union gun and shouted, " Give them the cold 
steel, boys ! " In a moment he fell, mortally wounded. 



* The fences along the Emmittsburg road were riddled. One inch-and-a-quarter board 
was indeed a curiosity. It was sixteen feet long, fourteen inches broad, and was perlo- 
rated with eight hundred and thirty-six musket balls. This board is said to be in the 
possession of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. This board was on that part of the 
fence where Scales' brave little brigade crossed it. 



eg MAJ?S AXD CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

The Union general, Webb, by his personal example 
greatly helped to turn the tide of battle. For a moment 
there was great confusion. Regiments had lost their for- 
mation, although the men had not lost heart, but were fight- 
ing "on their own hook." A regiment *from Minnesota, 
one from New York, another from Michigan and a fourth 
from Massachusetts threw themselves into the breach with 
Webb's Pennsylvanians, and the enemy was pressed back, 
broken and decimated, but defiant still. At this moment, 
Lieutenant Gushing, of the regular artillery, who had been 
mortally wounded through both thighs, his battery a ruin, 
his men and horses lying dead or wounded at his feet, ran 
his only serviceable piece up to the fence and said : " Webb, 
I'll give them one more shot." As the report of the gun 
followed, Gushing called out " Good-bye! " and fell dead. 

SERGEANT-MAJOR HINCKS' EXPLOIT. 

During the grand assault, the Fourteenth Gonnecticut 
Regiment was in position opposite the left of the enemy's 
advancing lines ; this regiment was armed with Sharps' 
breech-loading rifles and their fire was very severe. 

Sergeant Wade of this regiment says : 

" By this time the Fourteenth were all excited ; they re- 
membered Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Ghancellorsville, 
and over the wall they went ; nothing could stop them, and 
soon they were fighting hand-to-hand with the rebels. We 
captured six battle-flags and forty prisoners ; and over one 

hundred prisoners came in afterwards Oh, it was a 

glorious day for the old Fourteenth ! One of the lieuten- 
ant-colonels taken by our regiment, coming up to our thin 



SERGE A XT-MAJOR HIXCK'S' EXPLOIT. 5^ 

line, asked us where all our troops were, and being told that 
he could see all there were, exclaimed, ' Oh ! that I had 
known it a half hour since.' Some of the prisoners told us 
that their generals told them that they were fighting noth- 
ing but the Pennsylvania militia, but when they saw that 
ace of clubs, the trefoil badge of the Second Corps, they 
all exclaimed, ' We have been fighting the Army of the 
Potomac' " 

After the first fire from the Union side had taken 
effect, Sergeant-Major WiLLIAM B. HI^XKS, of the Four- 
teenth, saw, planted in the ground, some distance in front, a 
rebel flag. Around and on a line with it were a number of 
unwounded men who had thrown themselves down to avoid 
the heavy fire. He determined to capture the flag. Leap- 
ing over the wall, with nothing but his short sword in his 
hand, he ran straight for it. At the same time two or three 
others of his regiment had started for the same goal. One 
of these, an officer, was brought down by a bullet ere he 
had run ten yards. Hincks outstripped the others, reached 
the spot, and with a yell seized the colors by the staff, and 
waving his sword over his head was on his way back before 
those around could divine his purpose. Instantly a shower 
of bullets came all about him ; he was also exposed to a 
scattering fire from our troops. It was " running the gant- 
let " indeed. Hincks, in his dash across the neutral ground, 
seemed to bear a charmed life. As he neared his own lines 
he saw the men standing up, regardless of the leaden mes- 
sengers behind, and as he mounted the wall, trophy in hand, 
the regiment, to a man, wildly cheered the gallant fellow. 
It proved to be the colors of the " Fourteenth Tennessee." 



6o MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

On the flag were inscribed the names of the following bat- 
tles in which it had been borne: " Seven Pines," " Mechan- 
icsville," "Cold Harbor," " Shepardstown," "Fredericks- 
burg," " Chancellorsville," " Ox Hill," " Harper's Ferry," 
" Sharpsburg," " Frazier's Farm," "Cedar Run," " Manas- 
sas." 

Major Hincks writes:- " \\"e were behind a low stone 
wall, such as may be seen on any New England farm. Par- 
allel to this wall, and perhaps 150 yards away, was a lane 
(Emmittsburg road.''), on either side of which were the ruins 
of a wooden fence. My recollection is that our people 
began to fire as the front line of the enemy crossed this 
fence. This broke their front line ; their advance was 
checked and they began to fire. Then their color-bearer 
ran forward, planted his flag in the ground, and with several 
others — I presume the color-guard — laid down beside it, our 
fire being very hot. At that time I was firing two Sharps' 
rifles which Lieut. Hawley was loading for me ; they be- 
longed to men wounded early in the day. . . . The regi- 
ment on our right fired buck-and-ball cartridges, and I think 
that I was in as much danger from them when I ran to get 
the flag as from the enemy. . . . One gun (cannon) which 
had been pushed out a few rods in front of our stone wall 
remained there during the charge, having been disabled. A 
daring Southerner jumped upon this gun and waved his hat ; 
but did not live to tell the story. In going after the flag I 
ran past this gun, leaving it upon my left hand." f 

On the right of the Fourteenth, but further to the front, 

* August I, 1886. 

+ See full-page drawing facing opening of this chapter. 



S£A' GEA .VT MIL L ER 'S TR OPHIES. g i 

another small regiment, the Eighth Ohio Infantry, had been 
posted since the day before, as part of the picket-line. 

SERGEANT MILLER'S TROPHIES, 

When the wave of Pickett's charge rolled up to the crest 
of the Cemetery Ridge it passed to the left of the Ohioans. 
Having spent its force, part of it receded and, breaker-like, 
scattered its foam along the battle beach. For a moment 
it seemed as if the gallant Eighth would be washed away. 
But it stood like a rock ; and the ebbing tide divided as it 
met this new obstruction. The enemy was not panic- 
stricken ; there was plenty of fight in him yet. Hand-to- 
hand encounters took place. Prisoners and colors were 
taken, and there were many acts of gallantry. Sergeant 
Daniel Miller, of "Company G, 8th O. V. I.," was a 
terror in this combat. He had already sent several prison- 
ers to the rear when he saw, a short distance away, some- 
thing tempting; it was a rebel flag in the centre of three or 
four " Pine Knots." At that moment a shell exploded just 
over their heads. A piece struck the color-bearer and 
brought him to his knees. The colors were not suffered to 
touch the ground. A young of^cer sprang forward and 
grasped the staff. This man was already wounded ; covered 
with dust, the blood trickling from a gash on his forehead, 
without a hat, his eyes blazing, holding his torn but pre- 
cious standard aloft in one hand while he guarded it with 
his bare rapier in the other, he seemed the living imperson- 
ation of valor. But he was almost alone, his revolver 
empty and his line of retreat nearly cut of^. He backed 
slowly toward a gap in the fence near which he stood ; once 



62 



MARS AXD CL'PID AT GETTYSBURG. 



on the other side of it he might reach his own hnes in 
safety. But the foeman was upon him. The Ohio soldier 
confronted the brave Confederate and bade him surrender. 
Nine out of ten men would have done so. But no ; holding 
the flag behind him the rebel officer parried with great dex- 
terity the thrusts made by the sergeant, who was loath to 
shoot this gallant youth. But there was no time to lose ; 







"^.^^ 







RELIEVING THE WOUNDED. 



if he wanted the flag he must act promptly. " Surrender ! 
or I'll shoot," hoarsely cried Miller. In response the slen- 
der sword-blade seemed to wrap itself round the barrel of 
his rifle and the point pierced his wrist. A sharp report 
rang in the ears of the Southern soldier ; he dropped his 
weapon and fell backward upon the banner of his regiment, 
pale and motionless. His opponent in vain tried to loosen 
the death-grip which held the color-staff, so tearing the 
silken trophy from the lance, he thrust it into his bosom. 
Honors now were easier. There were but few in sight of 
that grand division of Vireinians and Georgians which 



AFTER THE BATTLE. 



63 



swept so proudly on to the Union position less than half 
an hour before. Here and there might be seen a little 
group slowly nearing the rebel lines with wounded com- 
rades. Once more did Sergeant Miller add to the glorious 
" loot." Creeping along a stone wall he saw a " butter- 
nut " figure. It proved to be another color-bearer. One by 
one his color-guard had been killed or wounded, and he 
was making to the rear. It required but slight exercise 
of Miller's persuasive powers to induce the man with his 
charge to turn about as a prisoner of w-ar. 

And now the forces of Nature took their turn. A great 
thunder-storm gathered and broke over the battlefield. 
The artillery of the heavens in mighty peals seemed to 
mock the late cannonade. The lightnyig blinded man and 
beast ; and the rain, falling in great sheets, promised to 
VN^ash out the blood-stains from the face of mother earth. 
And this last was a great blessing to the thousands of 
wounded and d}'ing who, burning with thirst and faint for 
want of food and drink, were instantly refreshed. 

AFTER THE BATTLE. 

The day following was the anniversary of our national 
independence. How it was spent on the battlefield is told 
by Sergeant Wade of the Fourteenth Connecticut, in an 
interesting letter: " Saturday, July 4, we were called up at 
three o'clock, and ordered to fix up our little stone wall put 
in front of us, as the rebels would no doubt try us again early 
in the day. But they did not come and we lay here all 
day, resting from our arduous labors of the few days pre- 
vious. We could hear the groans of the wounded rebels 



64 



MARS AXD CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 



ahead of our picket-lines, but every attempt at taking them 
off to a hospital would prove unavailing, as the enemy's 
pickets would fire at us if we attempted it 

"This was the first Fourth of July we had been in the Ser- 
vice, and we talked over our prospects for the future, and 
reviewed the past ; especially that portion since we had left 
Falmouth. We had been on the march twenty-one days, 
had travelled over 200 miles, and suffered exceedingly from 
the heat and had pretty hard living. We had scarcely any- 
thing to eat from July i to the night of the 3d, when we 
crawled out on the battlefield after dark, where the ene- 
my's wounded lay, and took the haversacks from those who 
had been killed in the fight that day ; these haversacks 
were nearly all full of nice hoe-cakes. Some that we found 
were stained with blood where it had run into their haver- 
sacks from their wounds. But we were so hungry that we 
didn't stop for that. This may seem a tough story, but it 
is true." 

The Dietrich family, shorn of much of this world's goods 
by the Confederate foraging party, finally reached their 
kinsman's roof. Here, during the battle, they eagerly lis- 
tened to the booming and the crash of the conflict as it 
came to them on the fitful wind. But Elinor was not idle ; 
together with others of the household she scraped lint and 
made rolls of bandages, and felt that although men might 
fight and maim, yet it was woman's sweet privilege to bind 
up the wounds, to be the ministering angel, and to spread 
the soft mantle of Christian charity over Rebel and Yankee 
alike. Naturally her thoughts turned to the young soldier 



WOUNDED UXTO DEATH. f.- 

SO far from home and kindred ; she did not sympathize 
with his cause, but he was her hero and in danger. 

Coming up the lane, at this moment, appeared a negro 
boy, dressed in a Union soldier's blue trousers and cap, 
and a shirt of no particular allegiance or color. As he. 
came nearer, Elinor's heart beat fast. It was Jim. Were 
his news good or bad ? She ran forward. Jim took off his. 
cap when he saw her, and in answer to her questioning 
eyes, said : " Sorry, Mis Elinor, t' bring you sich news.. 
He's been wounded despert bad, an de doctah say he doai"ii 
kno ef he kin live fru de night." 

WOUNDED UNTO DEATH. 

Seated under a tree, out of sight of the house, and forti- 
fied by the sfmple refreshment of pie and milk, Jim told 
his story. In brief, he had been left in camp by Captain 
Arden on the morning of the third day. When the rem- 
nant of the " Pine Knots" came back that night his master 
was not with them ; he had been last seen in front, when 
the Confederate line fell back. Late at night, Jim and one 
of Arden's men had crept out to the point indicated be- 
tween the pickets, and after an hour's search had found 
the missing ofificer lying unconscious, but alive, and still 
grasping the color-staff, from which the flag had evidently 
been torn. Having found him, the difficulty was to get 
him within his own lines. Jim had brought with him a 
small flask of Pennsylvania " apple-jack," with which he . 
managed to partially revive the captain. Then, aided hy 
his companion, he made a sort of litter with a blanket and 
rubber poncho, stripped from a dead Union soldier, and 
5 



65 MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

thus they half carried, half dragged their almost uncon- 
scious burden to the Confederate picket-line — not without 
danger of occasional shots from the vigilant watchers of 
both armies. From this point Arden was carried to a small 
hut occupied by an old colored woman. Upon examina- 
tion, the surgeon reported that Captain Arden had received 
a slight scalp wound, apparently from a bayonet ; but the 
most serious thing was a gunshot wound through the body, 
near the left lung, the ball having evidently passed out 
through the back, under the shoulder-blade. That it was 
impossible to say, then, what were the chances of recovery, 
but that, so far, the absence of fever and a fine physique 
were in the patient's favor. In any case, it would be a 
matter of nursing rather than of medicine. As the boy 
finished, Elinor had made up her mind. She must go to 
Frank. Who could nurse him so well as she? 

Jim reported that the Confederates had fallen back from 
the place where Arden was lying, and that he had passed a 
number of farmers returning to their homesteads. So 
Elinor took her father into her confidence, and he, seeing 
her resolution, yielded. Her mother was not to be taken 
into the secret until a day later, when it would be possible 
for her to join Elinor by comfortable conveyance. Under 
pretence of taking a ride in the direction of the Dietrich 
farm, Elinor and her father, followed by Jim on one of the 
despised " U. S." cavalry horses, set out early the next 
morning. 

Aunt Sheba's abode was a rude cabin of boards with two 
rooms ; one was kitchen, reception, dining and sewing 
room, and the other answered the purpose of a bedroom; 



REWARDING THE VICTORS. gy 

at present doing duty as guest chamber. The place was 
"neat as wax" and not without a picturesque air, with nas- 
turtium vines running up its weather-beaten sides and 
almost shutting out the light which struggled to enter at 
the port-hole-like windows. 

Within, on the bed, lay Arden, pale, helpless and breath- 
ing with difficulty, his eyes fastened upon Elinor, who 
stood by his side, holding his hand. On the other side of 
the bed was the doctor, an old practitioner in the neighbor- 
hood. At the foot of the bed stood one in half clerical, 
half military garb, with a book in his hand. In the back- 
ground sat Farmer Dietrich. 

Although fever had not set in yet, the wounded man was 
very weak, and it was thought his case was hopeless. By 
mutual consent it was determined to join these loving 
hearts while the spark of life still lingered. It seemed to 
gratify Arden that at least Elinor would bear his name. 

The ceremony was brief but impressive. After it was 
over, the sick man closed his eyes, and all but the doctor 
and the young wife left the room. 

REWARDING THE VICTORS. 

On a crisp, beautiful morning in December, 1864, there 
was a grand parade, of all the troops available, near the 
headquarters of the Second Corps. After a review by Gen- 
eral Meade, the command " Order arms!" was given. The 
adjutant-general of the corps soon appeared- at the head of 
a small party of officers and men, wearing side-arms only. 
There were three commissioned officers, two non-commis- 
sioned staff-officers, and several sergeants, corporals and 



68 MAJLIS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

privates. They advanced to the front and centre of the 
line, and after the adjutant-general had read the orders in 
the case, the Victor of Gettysburg, followed by a brilliant 
retinue, including several corps commanders, visiting offi- 
cers of foreign armies and others, approached near the little 
group and presented to each man, with a graceful word or 
two of congratulation, the Medal of Honor won during the 
campaign. When Lieutenant Hincks' name was called, a 
tall, slender, boyish figure in the full dress of an adjutant 
of infantry, advanced and received his medal. As General 
Meade handed Hincks the prize, he said, looking at the 
lieutenant's shoulder-strap, "I am glad to see, sir, that you 
have received something more substantial than a medal." * 

Through some inexcusable blunder the gallant Sergeant 
Miller, of G Company, 8th Ohio Volunteers, never received 
the medal for which he was recommended by his regimental 
commander, but it was sent from the War Department to 
another man of similar surname, in the same company. 
The poor fellow died some years since, and never ceased to 
feel that "■ Republics are ungrateful." f 

We have already taken up too much space with the 
incidents of the great battle, and must stop short now. 
But not before it can be truly said that what seemed to be a 

* William B. Hincks of Connecticut, aged 22, enlisted as a private in the 14th C. V, I., 
July, 1862. Promoted through all grades to 2d lieutenant and adjutant, Oct. 20, 1863, 
major, April 3, 1865. Served with regiment in Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, dur- 
ing entire period, and in following engagements: Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancel- 
lorsville, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Peters- 
burg, Hatcher's Run, Appomattox. Received honorary degree of A.M. from Yale College, 
July, 1878. 

+ " The 8th pressed forward, capturing a large number of prisoners and three stands of 
colors ; one marked 34th North Carolina and one 38th Virginia were captured by Ser- 
geant Daniel Miller ' G' Co."— Lt. -Col. F. Saivycr, %th O. I'. I. Official Rcf-ort, Ba4tleo/ 
Gettysburg. 



PEACE AND PROSPERITY. 



69 



death-bed marriage had a happy ending. A strong constitu- 
tion and the tender care of his wife enabled Captain Arden 
to pull through. But his recovery was very slow, and re- 
quired a trip to Europe to complete the cure which Elinor's 
nursing had commenced. Indeed, the young Carolinian 
had hardly stepped upon his native heath when the news 
of Appomattox put an end to his military ambition. 

I saw them driving in the Park the other day. From the 
size of the family party and the appearance of the equipage 
it was evident that our Gettysburg friends are both happy 
and prosperous. In the dignified coachman, I with diffi, 
culty recognized Jim. 





70 




CORPORAL JOHN H. WEEKS. 

I52D N. Y. VOL. INFANTRY. 



THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

THE Army of the Potomac, leaving its winter quarters 
at Brandy Station and Culpeper, with its shelter-tents 
folded on the top of the knapsacks, and its cartridge-boxes 
and haversacks well filled, had crossed the Rapidan River, 
for the last time, " on to Richmond." 

For six days it had fought and marched through the 
Wilderness, and on May 11, 1864, had reached the neighbor- 
hood of Spottsylvania Court House, where General Lee, 
with the Army of Northern Virginia, barred the way. 

Never before had gigantic armies striven for the mas- 
tery in such dense forests, where in a single week forty 
thousand men had fallen, killed or wounded. 

The country from the Rapidan River to Spottsylvania 
Court House was an immense wood, with here and there a 
clearing or field that had in former years been cultivated 
for the raising of corn and tobacco. The male portion of 

71 



72 



THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYLVANIA. 



the population had nearh' all gone further south, leaving 
the women and a few negroes at home. 

There was a projection in General Lee's line a short dis- 
tance north of the Court House, which military men call 
^' The Salient." General Grant determined that an assault 
should be made at that point. He issued orders at 3 p.m. 
to " move three divisions of the Second Corps by the rear 
•of the Fifth and Sixth Corps, under cover of the night, so. 
as to join the Ninth Corps in a vigorous assault on the- 
enemy at four o'clock A.M., to-morrow." He sent two staff 
officers to impress upon the commanders concerned the 
necessity of pushing forward vigorously. 

How these orders were carried out is related in the fol- 
lowing pages by two soldiers of Hancock's Corps — one from 
a Pennsylvania and one from a New York regiment. These 
men received two out of the fifteen Medals of Honor 
awarded by the Government to Grant's army for distin- 
guished service at Spottsylvania. Their statements were 
contributed upon the invitation of the Editor. ' 

I. CORPORAL WEEKS' STORY.* 

" On the night of the ilth of May, 1864, we were relieved 
by the 5th Corps at Laurel Ridge (or Stony Ridge, I have 
forgotten which) after dark, and moved out of the works, 
with instructions to move as silently as possible ; not to 
allow our cups or bayonets to rattle or make any unneces- 
sary noise. We marched all night through a cold rain, 

* JoHX H. Weeks was born at Hampton, Windom County, Connecticut, March 13, 1845. 
Enlisted as private, " H " issd N. V. Volunteers. August 28, 1862. Served in Second 
Corps, Army ot the Potomac, until discharged as corporal, for wounds, May 25, 1865. 



CORPORAL WEEKS' STORY. 



n 



until just before the break of day, on the morning of the 
1 2th, we were halted in line of battle, with orders to ' in 
place rest.' The report had been in circulation during the 
night that we were going to relieve the 6th Corps in the 
Reserve, that we might get a chance to rest, as we had 
been under fire constantly for six days ; and when we 
halted we could see the light of camp fires shining along 
the sky in our front, where we supposed were the 6th 
Corps. No sooner were we ordered to rest, than I threw 
myself down in the mud and fell asleep. In a few min- 
utes I was awakened by the tramp of a horse coming on a 
lope. I raised up and saw an aide ride to General Hancock 
(who happened to be near our right) and give the verbal 
order to the general, as near as I can remem.ber, as fol- 
lows : — ' Gen. Meade's compliments, and directs that you 
move your corps forward and occupy those works.' 

"We were called to attention and ordered 'Forward, 
guide centre, march 1 ' Little did I think then what it 
would cost to obey that order, as I still thought it was the 
6th Corps in our front.* 

" We were in the second line of battle, following close 
behind the first, till soon the Reb skirmishers commenced 
firing. Then for the first I began to realize that we had 
work before us. It was now getting quite light, but the 
fog prevented us from seeing far in our advance. We soon 



* General Grant says, " The ground over which Hancock had to pass to reach the enemy 
was ascending, and heavily wooded to within two or three hundred yards of the enemy's 
intrenchments. In front of Birney there was also a marsh to cross. But notwithstand- 
ing all these difficulties the troops pushed on in quick time without firing a gun, and 
■vvhen within four or five hundred yards of the enemy's line broke out in loud cheers, and 
with a rush went up to and over the breastworks. Barlow and Birney entered almost 
simultaneously. Here a desperate hand-to-hand conflict took place. 



74 



THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 



came to an open field with a gradual ascent to near the top, 
where there had been heavy timber, which had been felled 
with the tops toward us and the boughs sharpened ; also 
wire stretched through the tree tops. Still beyond this 
obstruction were the enemy's works, which consisted of a 
ditch, eight feet wide and nearly as deep, with a row of 
sharpened stakes set in front, the points about breast high. 
Immediately in rear of the ditch were the breastworks, 
which were formed of the dirt thrown up from the ditch, 
making the distance from the bottom of the ditch to the 
top of the works from twelve to fourteen feet, without a 
chance of a foothold. 

" x-\s soon as we came to the edge of the open field they 
opened on us with canister and musketry. The artillery 
had been massed at this point and all double-shotted with 
canister — thirty pieces, if I remember right. Such a 
storm of iron and lead I never saw before or since. It did 
not seem possible for a man to live to reach the crest of 
the hill and pass the obstructions ; but, as history tells, 
some did. But by the time we reached the ditch there 
was no line of battle, but a moving mass of yelling Yan- 
kees. We succeeded in wrenching the sharpened staj<es 
from their places, and used them in crossing the ditch and 
scaling the works. When I think now of all the difficul- 
ties we had to overcome, with the flower of the rebel army 
behind such works pouring upon us a shower of lead, success 
seems impossible. It seemed to be an angle of their works 
where we made the charge, in shape of the letter V. Our 
right was on the left wing of the angle, so that when we 
got inside of the works we could still see the enemy on the 



THE CORPS COMMANDER. yc 

right wing opposing our men there from entering. It 
brought us in their rear. When we had sent our prisoners 
to the rear we still advanced, buf very slowly, on account of 
our broken ranks. 

" I saw the enemy give way at this time on the right wing, 
and amongst the rest was a stand of colors and color-guard. 
These men fired their muskets in a volley, and broke for the 
rear. They had to pass down our front to get out of the 
angle, and would have succeeded, but I made up my mind, 
as soon as I saw them start, that I must have those colors. 
I had also fired my gun, but had no time to reload. I ran 
up to the sergeant and snatched his colors from him, threw 
them on the ground and put my foot on them, cocked my 
empty gun, and told them the first one of them that moved 
out of his tracks I would shoot him down, and ordered 
them to throw down their guns and surrender. The ser- 
geant said to them, ' Boys, they have got the colors, let us 
go with the colors ; ' so they threw down their guns and 
marched to the rear as my prisoners. When I got back to 
our line. Col. Curtiss told me to take them away, for we 
might get driven back at any moment. 

" I recrossed the works and started for our rear, when I 
met General Hancock and staff going to the front. As he 
passed I saluted him. He returned the salute, and said, 
'What have you got there?' I told him a stand of col- 
ors I had captured in the front. He then asked me if 
those were my prisoners. I told him they were. He 
looked at some of his staff and smiled (I thought at the 
time a little incredulously), for there were five or six lusty 
rebels and I was at that time about eighteen years old. 



76 



THE SALIENT A T SFOTTSVLVANIA. 



Then lie said, 'You deliver your prisoners to the provost 
marshal and write your name, company and regiment with 
the date of the occasion (5n a slip of paper, and pin it on 
your colors, and turn them in to the adjutant of your regi- 
ment,' — which I did. 1 did not hear anything more about 
it till in the following winter when in Campbell Hospital, 
suffering from a wound received at the battle of Boydton 
Plank Road, on the left of Petersburg, I received a package. 
Upon opening it I found it to be a Medal of Honor." 




LIEUT. CHAR1.es H. F.\SN.\CHT, 

NINETV-M.NTH IENKSVLVANI.\ INF.VNTRY. 



;* 



II. SERGEANT FASNACHT'S ADVENTURES 

"On the evening of the eleventh day of May, 1864, the 
Ninety-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers 



* Charles H FASX.ACHTwas born March 27. 1S42, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 
Enlisted in 1861, in the Ninety-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers for three years. 
Re-enlisted February, 1864. Served continuously with his regiment, excepting seven 
months in hospital from wounds received at ChancellorsviUe and SpottsyU^ania Pro- 
moted corporal and sergeant and mustered out of service, with regiment, as first lieuten- 
ant July, 1865. Received the Medal of Honor; Silver Medal from the Directors of the 
U. S. Sanitary Fair at Philadelphia in 1864 ; and the Bronze " hear,iey Badge. 



THE NINE TY-NINTH PENNSYL VANIA. -^ 

was lying back to the right of Spottsylvania Court House, 
Virginia. The men were somewhat exhausted, having had 
fighting and marching in the Wilderness since the 5th day 
of May. Rations were issued between seven and eight 
o'clock P.M. About nine o'clock p.m. the troops of the 
2d Brigade, Brigadier-General J. Hobart Ward, 3d Di- 
vision (Birney), Second Corps (Hancock), received orders to 
fall in, and shortly afterward the march to the left com- 
menced. 

" The Ninety-ninth was commanded by Colonel Edwin R. 
Biles, and was the leading regiment of the division, being 
preceded -by Generals Birney and Ward, with their staff 
officers, and the pioneer corps. The night was very dark, 
and rain was falling nearly all the time. The men had 
orders to keep very quiet, and allow no noise from the 
rattling of canteens or other equipments. The rank-and- 
file had an idea that the Second Corps was marching for 
some vulnerable point of the enemy's line, and that as 
Birney's Division (composed, of what was left of the old 
Third Corps) was leading, it meant that on the morrow 
desperate work was before us. 

"Nothing occurred during this weary march until after 
midnight. We could hear, now and then, all through the 
night, away off to our left, the soldiers of Lee chopping 
wood; while away off to our right could be heard the 
rumbling noise of artillery. The quiet and stjllness of this 
steady march through rain and mud was almost unbear- 
able. Some of the men were tramping along almost 
asleep ; in fact, on several occasions muskets dropped from 
the shoulders of weary men. Now and then a comrade 



78 



THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYLVANIA. 



would ask in a whisper, ' What does this mean ? ' or, 
' Where are we going? ' But no answer could be given, as 
no one knew, except only those high in command. 

" Company A of our regiment was leading, and kept well 
closed up to Colonel Biles, who was just behind the staff of 
Generals Birney and Ward. And as we were thus march- 
ing silently along, with a soldier's steady tramp, suddenly 
the horses and their riders in our front came back pell mell, 
scattering the men in every direction. Every man grasped 
his musket more tightly, with hand on trigger, believing 
the enemy was at hand. The cause of this stampede was 
soon discovered. A soldier in the pioneer corps in front 
had accidentally discharged his musket, which scared horses, 
staff ofificers and others who were near. It must have been 
between one and two o'clock, on the morning of May 12, 
when the head of our column arrived at its place of destina- 
tion, and our company commenced to ' right by file into 
line ; ' and for a long while after, the troops were passing 
in our rear and forming in line to our left, with our regi- 
ment on the extreme right of our corps. The ground was 
wet and all around was darkness. The men in the ranks had 
no idea, as yet, of what was to be done in the morning. But 
the veteran soldiers who composed that line knew by instinct 
that daylight would see heavy fighting. With this belief, the 
men were soon 'lying on their arms,' dreaming of home 
and loved opes. The writer hereof was in ' light marching 
order,' having nothing but haversack, canteen and rubber 
blanket, besides his trusty Springfield musket. So with 
my rubber blanket wrapped around me, a soft spot in rear 
of the company was found, where I also was soon lost 



A^V EARLY MOKXIXG WALK. 



79 



in dreamland. About four o'clock in the morning I was 
awakened by being punched in the ribs with an officer's 
sword, and hearing a rustling noise, and low talk of the 
officers and men in my front. Jumping to my feet I dis- 
covered that the line was commencing to move forward. 

'' The men were told that we were advancing to charge 
the enemy's works, supposed to be three-fourths of a mile 
in our front, but which could not be seen from our starting- 
point. Colonel Biles also ordered the men not to fire a 
shot or give a cheer until we were inside the rebel earth- 
works; this was to take the enemy by surprise. At start- 
ing, we advanced through a swamp, overgrown with briers 
and small trees. After going about one-third of a mile we 
came out into a clearing on high ground. The line by 
this time being somewhat out of shape, it was straightened 
while still advancing. It was now daylight, and the en- 
emy's works could be seen about one-third of a mile in 
our front, running along the edge of the woods, parallel 
with our advancing line of battle. 

"These works looked formidable at that distance, and 
proved so, later on, when we crossed them. A great many 
low camp-fires were burning in the woods behind the 
enemy's line, while still others were being started ; no 
doubt to dry clothing and to prepare for an early breakfast. 
The smoke of these iires, mingled with the fosf, was hover- 
ing a few feet from the ground. What force the enemy 
had could not be known, as only here and there a sentry 
could be seen on the intrenchments ; nor did any one in 
our line have time to scan very closely. 

" As our line came out in this open ground, where it got a 



8o THE S A LI EXT A T SPOTTSYL VANIA. 

glimpse of the rebel earthworks, some soldier away off to 
our left, who could not hold in any longer, gave a cheer. 
It was against orders, but it started the cheering along our 
whole line, and the rebel pickets commenced to fire on us, 
while the enemy was seen to rush up to their works. But 
our line swept on. Colonel Biles told us now that the faster 
we went, and the quicker we got over the enemy's works, 
the better it would be for us. 

CAPTURING A FLAG AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

" The assaulting column was composed of Birney's Divis- 
ion on the right. Barlow's Division on the left, with Mott 
and Gibbon's divisions supporting ; my company (A), 99th 
P. V. v., being on the extreme right of the line. As we 
advanced, it was discovered that on our right there was a 
gap in the line, which was afterward filled up by troops (I 
think) of the Sixth Corps. 

" When the colonel gave the order to get over the enemy's 
works, the regiment started on 'the double-quick.' At 
this time, and while yet five hundred yards distant, a rebel 
flag was raised over the works right in front of my com- 
pany. The man holding it, waved it to and fro, as if invit- 
ing us to come on. Long before this I had an ambition to 
capture a rebel flag in actual battle ; not to pick it up from 
where, perhaps, it had been lost by its bearer, who being 
shot down had left it on the ground ; I wanted to be able 
to say that it was actually a captured flag. 

" I was behind the company as a ' file closer,' being a 
sergeant at the time, I ran around the right and in front 
of the company. We had swept the enemy's pickets from 



THE ASSAULT. §1 

before us ; the rebels were crowding to their works ; their 
fire was getting very warm, and opposite the gap on our 
right the enemy had a battery which opened a flank fire on 
our regiment. By this time the Ninety-ninth was pretty 
close to the enemy's works, and their strength was evident. 
In times like this every man in the ranks must, for the time, 
be a general himself; that is, he must be brave, use good 
judgment, make up his mind in a moment, and take advan- 
tage of every opportunity to overcome the enemy. In 
short, it is only when each private soldier is doing his whole 
duty, feeling the responsibility resting upon himself, that 
the general commanding will have his orders executed and 
his plans crowned with success. 

"As we came nearer, the enemy's fire was very heavy, the 
ditch, about eight or ten feet wide in front of the works, 
being nearly filled with water from the rain in the night. 
In front of the ditch limbs of trees had been placed, making 
a strong abatis. When our regiment came to this, the 
enemy's fire Avas making great gaps in our ranks, but we 
pressed on, tore away the obstructions, and jumped into 
the ditch (the water being over tw^o feet deep at this point) 
and commenced to scale the works. The rebel flag was 
still held up and waved, until just as I was about on top of 
the works calling to the color-bearer to surrender, and mak- 
ing a grab for it, the rebel sergeant, with several other sol- 
diers, started off on a run up on the inside of the works. 
At this hour the smoke and fog were still near the ground 
in the woods, and one could see but a very short distance 
ahead. Tents to shelter the men from the rain, during the 
night, had been made hastily with blankets and canvas. 
6 



g2 THE S A LIE XT A T SPO T.TSYL VANIA. 

•' Thus it was not only impossible to see far into the 
dense woods, but it was hard to get through and over these 
obstructions. On account of the cheering of our men and 
the delay in starting, the enemy was aware of our move- 
ment before we got over his works. But the charge was 
still a surprise to many of them, and a grand result in the 
end,*-for we took over six thousand prisoners. The Confed- 
erate general, Ewell, made a narrow escape from capture.* 

" When I jumped over the works I was followed by our 
whole regiment, Colonel Biles being right behind me. 
AVhat a sight to behold ! Confusion all around. While 
many of the enemy had rallied to the works, numbers of 
them were found in their rude shelter-tents. Some were 
without their equipments ; they were firing in every direc- 
tion. Some had just begun to get their breakfast ; others 
would shoot through their tents. Our men tore down 
everything giving shelter to the enemy, using the butt-end 
of the musket and the bayonet. Our men seemed to be 
possessed of superhuman strength and a determination to 
conquer or die, right then and there. No one seemed to 
see or fear danger, and yet we were right in the midst of it, 
men falling all around us. 

" Immediately after our regiment had crossed the first 
line of works. Colonel Biles made a half-wheel to the right 
with the regiment, intending to move up and capture a bat- 
tery the enemy had there. 

* " Hancock's corps captured some 4000 prisoners— among- them a division and brigade 
commander— 20 or more guns with their horses, caissons and ammunition, several thou- 
sand stand of arms and many colors. Hancock, as soon as the hand-to-hand conflict was 
over, turned the guns of the enemy against him. and advanced inside the rebel lines. 
About si.x o'clock I ordered Warren's Corps to the support of Hancock."— Ce'«. Grant's 
jSIemoirs. 



CAPTURING A FLAG. g^ 

" From the time that I first saw that rebel flag waving so 
defiantly in our faces, my sole object was to get it, and to 
that end all my energies were brought in play. So after I 
was inside of the works I took in the situation in a moment. 
Knowing the direction of our line of battle toward the left, 
and the open gap on our right, I concluded that the rebel 
color-bearer would try to escape by running up towards the 
right, and then cutting through the woods. I started on 
the run, diagonally through the woods, intending to head 
off the color-bearer. The distance I had to go would be 
shorter than his, and as one could see but a very short 
distance through smoke, fog and woods, I lost sight of the 
flag for a few minutes. But I had run probably one hun- 
dred and fifty yards over all kinds of obstructions, when my 
calculations proved correct ; for suddenly right in front of 
me, through a clump of trees, came this same color-bearer, 
carrying aloft his flag, and behind him were five or six sol- 
diers, his color-guard. I brought my musket to my shoul- 
der, with hand on trigger, and as he did not see me as 
soon as I saw him, he ran almost up against my bayonet 
before he stopped. True, my musket was empty at this 
time, but the muzzle of an empty gun at such close quar- 
ters looks almost as dangerous as a loaded one, and he did 
not know but that it voas loaded. The men behind him 
might have shot me down, but for some reason did not. 

" So when we met at that instant I demanded his surren- 
der and the flag ; he asked me not to shoot and reached the 
flag towards me. I did not lower my musket, but let the 
flag fall at my feet, and told him to go to my rear, which he 
did with his companions, who dropped their arms. I have 



84 THE SA LIE NT A T SPO TTS YL VA A 'I A . 

often, since then, wondered why the men behind him did not 
shoot, but I suppose they were in the same fix as myself ; 
that is, their muskets were empty. When the color-bearer, 
who was a man fully six feet tall, had passed to my rear I 
placed my foot on the staff and tore the flag off. It was a 
flag inscribed with many battles, and the words ' 2d Louisi- 
ana Tigrcs,' — a good fighting regiment in the Southern 
army, and one that we had met on many a battlefield 
before. While crowding the flag into my bosom under my 
blouse, absorbed in what I was doing, I cared little for what 
was taking place around me. I heard some one say, 'You 
had better let me have that.' On turning my head I dis- 
covered my colonel, for the first time, about twelve yards 
behind me, and about as many yards in front of the regi- 
ment ; he had taken the same direction with the regiment 
as I had. When I saw from whom came the voice, I gave 
him such a look (continuing to stow the flag away) that in 
after years he told me that he saw very plainly I did not 
wish to part with my prize, and he therefore told me to 
keep it. 

WITH THE WOUNDED UNDER FIRE. 

"By this time the regiment had advanced some distance 
to a line of works running at right angles from the first to 
the second line of defence, behind which the enemy had ral- 
lied to the support of some artillery. Our regiment at this 
time was on the flank and rear of these pieces, and the 
enemy, seeing the hopelessness of holding out, just as we 
were about charging, raised white flags, in the shape of 
handkerchiefs and pieces of tents, in token of surrender. 



WOUNDED AND UNDER FIRE. 



85 



We called out to them to come over the works without 
their arms, and they embraced the opportunity as fast as 
possible. At this time a heavy fire from the second line of 
works was opened on us, while quite a large number who 
had been driven before us took refuge on the outside of 
the first line, and were also firing into us.* Just as I had 
stepped back a few feet to make room for these men who 
were surrendering, a volley from the enemy on our right 
and front was poured into us, killing and wounding a large 
number. I fell shot, by a minie-ball, in my left leg at the 
knee joint. Brave Captain Lewis F. Waters of ' I,' and 
Lieutenant Henry S. Zeisert of ' D,' both fell alongside of 
me, instantly killed. 

" I was picked up and carried back to the first line we had 
crossed, where Sergeants McGrann and Ursprung took me 
further back about one-half mile, when our provost-guard 
was met ; they ordered all the wounded, who could not 
walk, to be laid on the ground, and the carriers to return to 
their regiments. The men with the stretchers were not up 
yet, and we remained in this clearing for an hour or more. 
This one hour seemed an entire day, surrounded as I was 
by several hundred wounded men who could not walk. 
We laid on the bare ground like so many sheaves of wheat, 
unable to move or get out of reach of the enemy's shells 
and solid shot that were striking the ground all around us, 
their artillery having a good range of this part of the field. 



* " Lee made the most strenuous efforts to regain the position he had lost. Troops 
were brought up and attacked Hancock furiously. Hancock was forced to fall back; but 
he did so slowly, with his face to the enemy, inflicting on them heavy loss, until behind 
the breastworks he had captured. These he turned, facing them the other way, and con- 
tinued to hold." — Gen. Granf s Metitoirs. 



86 THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYL VANIA. 

With all my pain I couldn't help but smile at some of the 
odd expressions and ludicrous scenes, when a shell or solid 
shot would strike close to some ui"'fortunate and scatter the 
dust all around. Some would berate the provost-guard, 
severely, for leaving us lying there, to be scared to death if 
not killed outright by the enemy's missiles ; others, with 
mangled arms or legs, would try and roll themselves away 
from a shell or round shot, as it struck the ground near 
them, making some witty remark. 

" No pen can fully describe, nor pencil do justice to, this 
scene ; several acres of ground covered with wounded sol- 
diers, enduring untold pain, without attention or medical 
treatment, and under the constant fire of the enemy's 
artillery. It must be borne in mind that the bravest of the 
brave under such circumstances will weaken, and wish for a 
place of safety. 

"At last, after an hour or so, the stretcher-bearers came, 
and I was taken away from this place to an ambulance, and 
driven to the rear, about two miles, to a little grove. On 
one side of this grove ran a small stream of water, and on 
the other a road, an open field beyond the road, a cornfield 
on the other side of the stream, a little rise or hill in our 
rear, and in front a heavy woods into which the road 
entered. These were the surroundings of the place where 
I was doomed to remain a prisoner for five days. 

"It was probably a little after noon when we were brought 
to this place. There was great activity all the afternoon in 
loading up the wounded into ambulances, and toward even- 
ing heavy army wagons were used. As darkness had set in 
I saw the last wagon filled and drive away, as they said, for 



CAPTIVITY ON THE BATTLEFIELD. 



S7 



Fredericksburg Hospital. It now dawned upon me that I 
was one of the unfortunate two hundred and twenty who 
were doomed to remain, for we were soon told by a surgeon 
that one hospital steward and ten men were left in charge 
of us ; that we should try and be contented and see what 
would turn up in our favor ; that he would do all he could 
to make us as comfortable as lay in his power. The sur- 
geon (whose name I have forgotten) had but a small 
amount of stores with him, and could give but little medi- 
cal treatment to us ; he and his men were busy day and 
night carrying water and food to us; besides, they had to 
dig graves and bury, on an average, ten of our number 
daily. 

CAPTIVITY ON THE BATTLEFIELD, 

"On the morning of May 13, about nine o'clock, a brigade 
of Confederate cavalry, under General Rosser (since Engineer 
of the Northern Pacific R. R.), and known as the 'Laurel 
Brigade ' (their badge being a sprig of green pinned on 
the left breast), came marching over the brow of the hill 
behind us. My place being quite close to the road, I heard 
the general give orders to one of his aides not to allow his 
men to go among the wounded, nor to disturb anything. 
But as soon as the head of the column had disappeared in 
the woods, the Confederates swarmed in among us, asking 
all manner of questions, and teasing us with the assurance 
that soon the Army of the Potomac would be driven back 
across the Rappahannock River. But we were rather out- 
spoken in telling them that a new commander, * Grant,' 
was at the head of our army, and that there would be no. 



88 THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYL VANIA. 

retreat and no stop this side of Richmond. None of our 
wounded were molested, but the newcomei:3 took nearly all 
the meat, sugar and coffee that had been left for us. 

" The evening before, we could hear firing until late at 
night, and this morning the firing seemed further away; we 
were now told that we were outside of our lines, and that 
our army had moved further on towards Lee's right. After 
the Confederate cavalry had passed out of sight, into the 
woods, I concluded to look at my rebel flag, which was still 
in my bosom, not having looked at it since the day before 
I asked the hospital steward to assist me. I had on at the 
time a short army blouse, made for me the winter previous 
by a Philadelphia tailor. It was lined throughout and filled 
in with cotton wadding. I took off my blouse and secreted 
the flag under a piece of old army blanket and placed it 
under my legs. We next opened the lining at the back of 
the blouse and pulled out all the wadding, then stuffed the 
rebel flag in and pinned up the lining, after which I put on 
the blouse ; and no one could notice it, except that I ap- 
peared rather stout. We had to be very careful while doing 
this so that no one could see the flag, especially the six 
wounded Confederates, who were lying about one hundred 
feet away from me. I was afraid that if the rebel soldiers 
should find it out they would take the flag away from me ; 
and as I had no other place to hide it; and as it was a 
trophy that I prized very highly, I determined to keep it 
with me as long as -I possibly could. 

" We had barely got through with our work when we heard 
scattered musketry in the direction the Confederate cavalry 
had taken, and in a very short time the whole brigade came 



''THE LAUREL BRIGADE:' gg 

back pell mell ; the road not being wide enough, many of 
the cavalry came through the woods and brought back with 
them several wounded men. They had been gone only two 
or three hours, and all that we could find out as to their 
sudden return was that after they had gone out several 
miles they came across some of the Union cavalry, who 
drove them back. After this episode. General Rosser, with 
his brigade, made his camp right alongside of us in the open 
field, and remained four or five days. Their olTicers paid 
frequent visits to our wounded, conversing with us, and 
paying a good deal of attention to their own six wounded 
who lay amongst us. These Confederate officers told us 
that they were only camped there for the purpose of captur- 
ing our ambulances that would be sent there for us, and 
that then they would take us in our own wagons to Rich- 
mond. We were anxious to find out what would be our 
fate, and this was certainly bad news to us. The horrors of 
Libby Prison, Belle Isle, Andersonville and other Southern 
prisons, arose before us in their vivid forms, and I made up 
my mind that death would be my fate if I was taken on to 
Richmond. For three years past I had been striving with 
thousands of other Northern soldiers to get to the Confed- 
erate capital, and now that in all probability an opportunity 
would be given to go there I did not wish to accept it. I 
set my wits together to devise some plan whereby I could 
outflank this latest of Confederate movements on my lib- 
erty. I had some hopes that our cavalry would come in 
there after General Rosser, and find us and take us away. 
But five long, weary days passed and no sign of a Union 



90 



THE SALIENT AT SFOTTSYLVANIA. 



soldier coming from any direction. Was it any wonder 
then that despondency took possession of all of us? 

DELIVERANCE. 

" On the afternoon of the fifth day of our captivity, several 
Confederate officers came among us and told us to be pre- 
pared to leave by next morning, as they would then bring 
their own conveyances and take us away. During these 
days I had planned out a course to take, and now I had but 
a few hours to make my preparations. I again called on 
the hospital steward, and told him my plan ; that he was to 
get me two small limbs with forks on them, and by wrap- 
ping pieces of old blankets around them I would make use 
of them for crutches. That in the night I would try and 
drag myself across the little run of water and into the corn- 
field, where I would hide myself until the Confederate cav- 
alry had departed with the wounded. I would then get out 
of the cornfield and run my chances of being picked up by 
some Union cavalry, or die in my effort to escape rather 
than go a pounded prisoner to Richmond. The hospital 
steward listened to my plan, told me it was risky, but he 
would assist me all he could, and wished me success. Be- 
fore dark, that evening, I was ready for my undertaking. 
But * man proposes and God disposes,' for while I was 
worrying my brain over what would be my fate in the ne.xt 
few days, a movement by some of our troops was being ex- 
ecuted for our rescue. 

" It seems that our situation had been made known to 
army headquarters, and a small division of infantry (I think 
it was Mott's White Diamond Division), and a battery of 



O UT OF B ONDA GE. g j 

artillery were on their way to our relief, and just before 
sunset, while sitting on the ground with my back against a 
tree, a wounded soldier, lying not far from me, cried out 
loud enough for all of us to hear him : ' Look up there on 
the hill ! ' Turning my head and looking towards the hill, 
I saw that a piece of artillery was unlimbering, and the in- 
fantry were moving up to support it, when several other 
pieces were run up and placed in position. But the first 
piece fired one shot into General Rosser's cavalry before 
they knew that there were any Union troops near. The 
echo of the first shot had not died away before three more 
pieces were firing in rapid succession. In the Confederate 
camp all was confusion ; horses tore loose, officers were 
calling to the men, and everybody was looking out for his 
own safety. And it took General Rosser and his men but 
a very short time to get away from that place, and their 
speed was accelerated by the Union shot and shell. Never 
before nor since did I experience such real happiness as at 
that moment, when these friends, wearing the loyal blue 
uniform, came marching under the Stars and Stripes so 
unexpectedly to our rescue. There were wounded soldiers 
among our number, more dead than alive, who would rise up 
and faintly cheer at the sight of the old flag and friends, and 
then fall back exhausted, weeping for joy. Men grasped 
each other by the hand, and with tears in their eyes praised 
God for this unexpected deliverance. Yet in our feeble 
condition we tried to give a few parting words to General 
Rosser's men, as they so hastily took their departure. We 
twitted them on their unceremonious going away without 
us ; asked them how soon they would return ; but they paid 



Q2 THE SALIENT A T SPO TTSYL VANIA. 

no heed to our remarks, and in a very few minutes they 
had all disappeared, leaving behind a few wounded and 
prisoners. In less than one half hour ambulances were 
driven up and we were carefulh' lifted into them, so that by 
eight o'clock that evening the last Union wounded soldier 
had been loaded and the ambulance train with its escort was 
ready to start for Fredericksburg. As already stated, there 
were two hundred and twenty of us who were brought here, 
but about fifty had died. 

"It was about eight o'clock on the evening of May i6 
that our train started. I had been placed on the seat with 
the driver, with my leg in a swing, and tied to the roof of 
the ambulance, and in driving along that night through the 
darkness, over rough roads, the wheels would strike a rut 
or stone and give my leg a jerk that would send the pain all 
through my body, and jolt those Ij'ing in behind, who would 
hurl uncomplimentary remarks at the driver, for causing 
them so much pain. About nine o'clock the next morning 
our train arrived at Fredericksburg, \\here it was intended 
to place us in hospitals; but all the houses that could be 
made use of were already filled with the wounded from the 
Wilderness. 

MINISTERING ANGELS. 

" We were then given coffee and bread, and after some 
delay our ambulance train was started off across the Rappa- 
hannock River, t6wards ' Belle Plain,' on the Potomac River, 
where we arrived early that evening. It was about nine 
o'clock that evening when I was carried on board of a barge 
which was afterwards towed out to a larcje Government 



MIXISTERING ANGELS. 



93 



boat in the middle of the stream. Shortly after,. I was laid 
on the barge, where a few flickering lamps shed their dim 
light. I could hear sweet voices, followed by some of the 
ladies of the ' Sanitary Commissions.' These ' minister- 
ing angels,' with lint, medicines, brandy, milk-punch and 
sandwiches, went from cot to cot, attending to the 
wounded and speaking words of good cheer. Surely the 
sick and wounded soldiers can never repay the debt of 
gratitude they owe to the loyal and patriotic women of the 
North, for the good work done by them in hospital and in 
camp during the dark days of the war. 

" During the night, our barge was towed out in the middle 
of the river alongside of the large steam-boat, to which its 
load of wounded was transferred, being placed on stretchers 
in rows, making several hundred in all. The flag attracted 
a great deal of attention in the hospital at Washington. 
One gentleman, when he saw it unfolded, with the name 
and number of the regiment it belonged to printed on its 
stripes, ' Second Louisiana Infantry, C. S. A.,' said he was 
in New Orleans in April, 1861, when this same flag was pre- 
sented to the regiment. At the Armory Square Hospital, 
to which I was taken, a screen was put up, a tub of water 
brought, and a good bath given me. During this process 
the surgeon came with a large glass of brandy and told me 
to drink it, and it seems to me, even at this late day, that 
was the best drink I ever tasted. I was now dressed with 
clean under-clothing, and placed in a bed on the right hand 
side, next to the entrance door, with my flag fastened on 
to the wall over my head ; and under the influence of what 
I had been drinking, and the sweet strains of music coming 



94 



THE SALIEiXT A T SPO TTSYLVANIA. 



from a piano at the other end of the ward, I forgot my 

pain, and was soon lost in slumber. After going through 

with what I had the previous two weeks, I indeed now felt 

as if I was in Paradise. 

* w * * * -x- * 

" After remaining in hospital at Washington and Philadel- 
phia for nearly seven months, I rejoined my regiment in 
the field and served with it continuously until the close of 
the war." 




THE WILDERNESS — A YEAR AFTER. 




LIEUT THOMAS PARKE GERE, 
FIFTH MINNESOTA INFANTRY. 



THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 



IT was upon a crisp, bright day in February, 1865, that an 
interesting scene might have been witnessed in the War 
Department at Washington. 

The place itself was one of the lions which all pilgrims to 
the Shrine of the Constitution thought it the correct thing 
to visit. 

Young officers, who for the first time entered it on offi- 
cial business, did not entirely "leave Hope behind," but 
they were conscious of a chill in the region of the back- 
bone as the old green leather doors swung to behind them. 
The corridors were dark and damp, and had a musty odor 
from the tons of red-taped of^cial papers which filled the 
countless pigeon-holes. And the messengers, sitting on 
guard at the doors of the various bureaux, had a stern and 

95 




BATTLE RELICS. 



96 



THE OLD WAR OFFICE. gy 

mysterious air, befitting men filled with plans of battles 
and secrets of the Council Chamber. 

There are pleasant memories, also, of the ancient struct- 
ure ; of the time when the stone-fiagged halls echoed the 
ponderous tread of General Scott, with the front of Mars 
himself ; or resounded with the stride of General Harney, 
the military gladiator of his time ; or reflected the jingle of 
Charlie May's spurs, or rang with the jolly laugh of old 
Ben Beall, of the dragoons, as he bandied jests with Prince 
John Magruder, of the artillery, careless of the coming 
"chestnut bell." While, later on, the clank of Custer's 
sabre and Sheridan's quick footfalls mingled with the run- 
ning to and fro of orderlies, and the tinkle of the great 
Secretary's little bell. 

But the quaint, ark-shaped edifice has been torn down, 
and in its place has arisen an official palace of marble and 
iron and mahogany. In the new order of things one is not 
impressed, as in the olden time, with the Spartan simplicity 
which belongs to the God of War. 

I. NASHVILLE TROPHIES. 

Within the large reception-room of the War Department 
there had assembled, on the day already mentioned, about 
one hundred persons. 

They had been summoned by the Secretary of War to 
take part in the ceremony of receiving certain Confederate 
battle-flags captured at the battles before Nashville, in 
December, 1864. 

In the centre of the room were grouped fifteen gallant 
men who, in hand-to-hand combat, bad perilled their lives: 
7 



98 



THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 



to secure as trophies the tattered banners now proudly 
borne as spoils of war. These were generally young men 
— some of them mere boys — whose bronzed faces were 
flushed with pride and excitement. In front of these, and 
in a sort of horseshoe formation, was another party. Sena- 
tors and Representatives, war governors, members of foreign 
legations, a cabinet minister, the Adjutant-general of the 
Army, and other distinguished personages had taken a half 
hour from their public duties to do. honor to these brave 
Western soldiers. 

The spacious room had been cleared of furniture. Near 
the walls, on three sides, were arranged in continuous line a 
number of muskets, " stacked." Suddenly the hum of con- 
versation ceased, and a short, stout man with square shoul- 
ders, and wearing eye-glasses, stepped out between the sol- 
diers and the civilians and unfolded a paper. This was the 
famous cabinet minister, whose name will always be asso- 
ciated with troublous times — our " Reign of Terror," He 
read as follows : 

Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland, 
Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 13, 1865. 
Special Field Orders, No. 38. 
(Extract^ 
XIX. By virtue of permission received from the Honorable Secretary of War, the fol- 
lowing: named officers and enlisted men, captors of rebel battle-flags, at the battles of 
Franklin, Nov. 30, 1S64, and the battles before Nashville, Dec. 15 and 16, 1864. will pro- 
ceed with the trophies to Washington, D. C, where they will report to the Honorable 
Secretary of War, turning over to him the flags now in their possession, after which they 
will rejoin their various commands in the field. 

The detachment will be in charge of ist Lieut, and Adjt. Thomas P. Gere, 5th Regt. 
Minn. Vet. Vol. Inf., who will be accountable for their good conduct while en route. 
The Qr. M. Depmt. will furnish the necessary transportation. 

ist Lt. (Adjt.) Thos. P. Gere, 5th Minn. V. V. Infantry, 
ist Lt. O. Cohvell. " G" 95th Ohio V. Infantry, 
ist Lt. C. H. McCleary, " C " 72d Ohio V. Infantry. 
ist Lt. W. T. Simmons, " C" nth Mo. Vol. Infantry. 
Sergt. A. Ramsbottom, "K " 97th O. V. Infantry. 
: Sergt. »'. Garrett, 41st O. V. Infantry. 



THOMAS PARKE GERE. (^ 

Corpl./. W. Parks, " F " nth Mo. Vol. Infantry. 
Corpl. L. P. Kolienback, " F " 12th Iowa Vol. Infantry. 
Corpl. G. IF. llWf/i, "A" nth Mo. Vol. Infantry. 
Corpl. F. Carr, "D " 124th O. Vol. Infantry. 
Private O. IK Smith, " G " 95th O. V. Infantry. 
Private IV. May, " H " yzd Iowa V. Infantry. 
Private G. Stokes, "C" i22d Ills. V. Infantry. 
Private A.J. Sloan, " H " 12th Iowa V. Infantry. 
Private IVm. F. Moore, " C " 117th Ills. V. Infantry. 
Private D.J. Holcomb, " A " 41st Ohio V. Infantry. 
Corpl. H. Collins, ist Tenn. Cavalry. 

By command of Major-General THOMAS, 

Wm. D. Whipple, Asst. Adjt. Genl. 

Lieutenant Gere's name was called. A slender and 
earnest-looking young man advanced, flag in hand, and 
made these remarks : * 

''Mr. Secretary : I have the honor and pleasure to present 
to you the colors of the 4th Mississippi Infantry, C. S. A. 

" The capture was due, and should be credited, to the 
valor of the soldiers of Hubbard's Brigade, McArthur's 
Division of A. J. Smith's detachment. Army of Tennessee. 
It was the result of the final charge upon the enemy's 
works by that invincible command in the second day's bat- 
tle. Every soldier who participated in that assault shares 
the credit of the captured colors. 

" This brigade had a record previous to Nashville, and 
its services had been recognized in the promotion of its 
former lion-hearted leader, Joseph A. Mower, to be a major- 
general. 

" Smith's detachment, ten thousand strong, made up 
from the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps, after fol- 



* Thomas P.\kke Gere was originally mustered as a private, Co. " B," Fifth Regiment 
Minnesota Infantry, Jan. 17, 1862, aged 19 ; appointed ist sergeant, March 6, 1862 ; 2d 
lieutenant, March 14, 1862 ; ist lieutenant, August 20, 1862 ; regt. adjutant, March 19, 
1863 ; brigade adjutant, March 7, 1S64 ; discharged, April 5, bj- reason of expiration of 
term of service. 



jOO THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

lowing the fortunes of Grant and Sherman from Shiloh to 
Vicksburg, was, much to its regret, made an orphan by the 
order lending it for sixty days to the Red River expedition, 
but emerged with undimmed record from that campaign 
to join in the long chase of Price and Marmaduke '^ through 
Arkansas and Missouri, and arrived at Nashville just in 
time to take position as the right of the army confronting 
Hood. 

" Advancing south-westerly on the morning of December 
15, from the Charlottesville Pike, in ccliclon, by brigades, the 
enemy was soon encountered and steadily driven, through 
continuous fighting, some three miles south ; at night our 
front was to the east within one-fourth mile of the Granny 
White Pike, our pickets on that road, and the enemy's left 
flank was completely enveloped. During the night he 
extended his line to the west some distance beyond our 
position, again fronting north ; to meet which dispositions 
our front was, on the morning of the i6th, changed to the 
south, and our portion of the line advanced to w^ithin three 
hundred yards of his position. Hubbard's Brigade, its left 
now on the Granny White Pike, just north of the Brent- 
wood Hills, was in an open field, protected only by such 
works as the soldier had learned to hastily construct under 
fire. The enemy's line was behind a stone wall, in front of 
which during the preceding night he had constructed a 
strong ditch and abatis; and between us only a cornfield. 
Our batteries took, position on higher ground to our rear, 
and opened upon the enemy's line. The enemy's batteries 

* See " Capturing a Major-General," p. 107. 



BATTLE OF NASHVILLE. 



lOl 



in our front were in his main line, but the short distance 
between the lines prevented any exposure whatever. 
These relative positions were maintained until about 3.30 
P.M., at which time we received the order to assault. Elo- 
quent speakers have detailed the history of the succeeding 
minutes that made the soft cornfield ' the battle's gory 
meadow.' 

" The command swept through the carnage, over the 
works, capturing everything. In forming for the assault 
in two lines an interval was left between our brigade and 
the troops on our right, which subjected the brigade to an 
enfilading fire, but by sheer momentum the assaulting col- 
umn cut straight through and landed beyond the opposing 
line. Quickly discerning that the enemy in this interven- 
ing space were our prisoners, we swept down their flank, 
pushing them to our rear. This is where the capture of 
these colors took place.* I reached the works near the 
right of the brigade, but my horse could not cross the 
abatis and wall ; so with the troops hurrying along the 
enemy's works to our right we came upon the colors. I 
was a little in advance in this movement. The color-bearer 
leaped over the works toward our rear with the others, 
leaving the colors behind the works. I could not reach 
them, but compelled him to recross and deliver the flag. 

" That second day's battle at Nashville was the most 
complete rout of the enemy that I ever Avitnessed, and had 
the assault taken place as early as noon I don't think any- 
thing could have prevented the capture of Hood's entire 

* All that follows is taken from a recent letter (Aug-., iS86) written by Lieut. Gere. 



102 THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

army ; but it was wet and misty and soon became dark. 
The Rebs were completely broken up by that charge ; they 
were tired and hungry, and did not offer much opposition 
to capture after the works were reached. I carried a 
' revolver ' in hand during the melee, and as everybody 
was ' shooting quite promiscuously ' they complied very 
promptly with our orders to move to our rear. I had been 
slightly wounded in the right wrist the day before, but for- 
got about it until the excitement was over," 

Lieut. Gere also delivered to the Secretary, on behalf of 
Lieut. Charles McCleary, who was absent, the flag of 
the 4th Florida Regiment. McCleary, being in advance of 
the Union line of battle, came upon the rebel color-bearer 
and color-guard. He called upon them to surrender, which 
they at first declined to do ; but, as he insisted, they finally 
yielded and were made his prisoners. 

Lieut. Oliver Colwell's trophy was also handed in by 
Mr. Gere. 

Lieut. WiLLLAM T. Simmons presented the flag of the 
24th Louisiana. 

Sergeant ALFRED RamsboTTOM gave into the Secre- 
tary's hands the flag of the 2d Mississippi regiment, taken 
only after a hand-to-hand conflict, ' 

Sergeant William Garrett turned in the flag of the 
13th Mississippi. 

Corporals James W. Parks and LUTHER B. Kalten- 
BACK each brought forward a captured color ; the last 
named that of the 44th Mississippi. 

Corporal G. \V. Welch offered the flag of the 13th Ala 



CORPORAL COLLINS' REVENGE. 



roj 



bama. He said that as the color-bearer was trying to es- 
cape he shot him and secured the trophy. 

When Corporal Harrison Collins stepped out from 
the group the Secretary made a little speech to his deeply 
interested auditors. Said he : 

" General Croxton, who commands the force to which 
this man belongs, praises in the highest terms his gallantry.. 
I am sure we will all be glad to hear the story of the capt- 
ure from the lips of this brave soldier." 

Corporal CcUins blushed under the fire of so many big 
guns, and after the clapping of hands had subsided, with- 
a little urging on the part of his comrades, he said : 

"Well, gentlemen, there ain't much to tell, but I'll give" 
you the story the best I can. You see, last December,, 
when General Hood advanced toward Nashville, I saw that 
flag rally to the front. For thirteen days we fell back in 
good order before the enemy ; it looks now as if we were 
just drawing them on. That flag seemed to be in sight 
nearly all the time. I shot at it every time I got a chance, 
sometimes under embarrassing circumstances. It got to be 
so provoking that I made up my mind if we ever got a 
chance I'd pay those rebels for flaunting that there flag in 
our faces. After our army rested at Nashville for a week 
we advanced on the enemy, and it was now their turn to 
fall back, which they did, so fast, that on the second day 
it ended in a big stampede. On the third day I caught 
sight of my old friend, this flag. I was on duty with 
my regiment — the First Tennessee Cavalry — supporting a 
battery. The rebels made a stand at a creek which was 
bridged in our front. Part of them, with the flag, tried to 



I04 



THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 



cross lower down. Then I saw my chance. Some of us 
charged. I was soon close to the flag. The Confederate 
officer ordered some of his men to dismount and ' fight on 
foot.' Our party halted here, but I forgot everything but 
the prize, and riding through the dismounted enemy, over- 
took the color-bearer and demanded the flag. He threw 
it on the ground. I dismounted and picked it up. 

" By this time I was some distance in advance, and as 
our bugle was sounding the ' rally ' I turned back Avith 
my trophy." 

Corporal FRANK Carr recaptured a U. S. guidon from 
the enemy. 

"So you recaptured the old flag?" inquired the Secre- 
tary. 

" Yes," was Carr's reply. " We made a charge and were 
repulsed. I got into the abatis, and couldn't get out. A 
Johnnie came up and told me to surrender. I wouldn't do 
it, but put on my bayonet and was going to stand a fight. 
The fellow had- this flag sticking out of his breast. I 
grabbed it, and he turned and ran away." 

Private Otis W. Smith captured the battle-flag of the 
6th Florida. He was one of the first to leap the rebel 
works, and took both flag and bearer. 

Private WiLLlAM MAY presented the flag of Borran- 
cood's Battery, and Private Andrew J. Sloan delivered 
the colors of the ist Louisiana Battery. 

Private GEORGE $TOKES and DANIEL J. HOLCOMB also 
transferred, to the care of the War Department, Confeder- 
ate flags. 

Private WiLLIAM F. MoORE told how he got his trophy, 



WARLIKE TAPESTRY. 



105 



a battery flag of Cheatham's command. He said: "The 
color-bearer was in a small group of rebels and was trying 
to climb the hills. I shed my knapsack, took after him and 
a captain of the same regiment and captured both." 

As each man advanced to deliver his trophy it was re- 
ceived by a gray-headed veteran of the Mexican War, who, 
after unfurling the flag, laid it upon the musket-stacks pro- 
vided, and when the last silken standard had been placed 
there the effect was brilliant and thrilling. The varied 
hues of the rainbow lighted up the sombre apartment in a 
blaze of color. Each face, for the time at least, glowed with 
the patriotic spirit of the occasion, and reflected the warm 
tints of the tapestried walls. Was ever there a grander 
decoration to human habitation — to feudal castle or impe- 
rial palace — than these battle-flags? Embroidered by the 
hands of fair women, bearing upon their folds the names 
of bloody battles where brave Confederates had rallied under 
them again and again ; torn by conflict, worn by tempest, 
they had at last fallen by the fortune of war into the hands 
of the victor. The Secretary, beaming with genuine pleas- 
ure, now as Master of Ceremonies, presented each of the 
notable personages to the heroes of the hour; each received 
a hearty grasp of the hand and a word of encouragement 
which none of them was likely soon to forget. 

The trophies were then inspected by the company, and, 
when the last dignitary had been presented, all returned 
to their respective groups while the Secretary of War ad- 
dressed Lieutenant Gere and his comrades as follows : 

" In behalf of the Government of the United States, I 
return to you its thanks, and the thanks of the people for 



Io6 THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

your gallantry. Accept also the gratitude of this Depart- 
ment for yourselves and for your comrades-in-arms. The 
Adjutant-general will be ordered to take charge of the flags 
with the descriptions you have this morning given, so as 
to connect your own individual histories with the noble 
actions by which they were captured. He will also be or- 
dered to present to each one of you a Medal of Honor, to be 
worn by you as a token and a recognition of your gallantry 
and distinguished services. I wish you all a safe return to 
your homes, and that you may long live to enjoy in peace 
the victories which have been won by you and your com- 
panions in arms. Lieutenant, I return to you and your 
command the thanks of the Department and of the Govern- 
ment, and you will make known to them the high estima- 
tion in which their services are held." 

Turning about, the Secretary, in an imperious manner, 
thus addressed the Adjutant-general of the Army, who was 
present, accompanied by the military chiefs of bureaux and 
of^cers temporarily in the city : 

" General Townsend, to your keeping I commend these 
sacred tokens of the courage, self-sacrifice and patriotism of 
our armies. You will cause a proper record to be made of 
the particulars of each capture, and present to each cap- 
tor, on behalf of the United States, a Medal of Honor suit- 
ably inscribed. 

" You will publish in General Orders the names of these 
gallant soldiers, furnishing each with a copy of the order, to 
the end that their noble example may incite others to sim- 
ilar deeds. 

" You will direct the Paymaster-general to pay to each 
officer and soldier a month's pay in advance. 



CAPTURING A MAJOR-GENERAL. 107 

" And, finally, you will grant to each a furlough of thirty 
days, with free transportation to his home and thence to his 
regiment." 

As the detachment filed out of the apartment each man 
saluted the War Minister. Mr. Stanton seemed for the mo- 
ment to forget the grimness of official duty in the emotions 
that swayed the warm-hearted man. He waved his hand in 
acknowledgment, his eyes filled with tears, and as the last 
"boy in blue" disappeared the Secretary turned, without a 
word to his guests, and darted into his private room. 




PRIVATE JAMES DUNLAVY, 
THIRD IOWA VOL. CAVALRY. 



II. CAPTURING A MAJOR-GENERAL. 

In presenting the trophies of the battle of Nashville to 
the Secretary of War, Lieutenant Gere spoke of the long 
chase of Price and Marmaduke in Missouri and Arkansas by 
the very troops that returned to Tennessee in time to gain a 
victory over the famous leader, Hood, at Nashville. 



I08 THE VICTORS AA'D THE SPOILS. 

The capture of the Confederate general, Marmaduke, was 
made by a young Iowa cavalryman, Private James DuN- 
LAVY,* under circumstances which he relates in a letter 
from which an extract is here given. 

The Union forces consisted of two brigades of cavalry, 
commanded by Colonels Benteen and Phillips. General 
Sterling Price's forces were falling back, with the Yankees 
close upon their heels. Dunlavy says : 

" General Marmaduke had formed his division on the 
prairie to hold us while Price's train crossed Mine Creek. 
His position was bad, with Mine Creek to his rear, Benteen 
on his right and Phillips on his left. Col. Benteen's charges 
were made promptly, and, according to Gen. Cabell (Con- 
federate), 'just in the nick of time.' A moment later 
Cabell intended to charge upon Phillips. He had just 
passed the word for it when Benteen struck their right, 
capturing their artillery. Marmaduke's whole right and 
centre were completely stampeded. I was on the extreme 
right of my regiment, and was wounded in the arm by a 
piece of shell, which also hurt my horse. Just as Marma- 
duke's men ' broke,' my horse wheeled to the rear and my 
gun fell from my hand, but held by the sling. Just as quick 
as I could get my horse to the front, seeing my brigade far 
in advance to my right, I noticed troops. Thinking they 
were Federals I started for them, but soon found they were 
Marmaduke's men in full retreat. I noticed an officer in a 
Confederate unifojm. This officer started in my direction, 

* James Dunlavv enlisted in Co. F, 30th Iowa Vol. Infantry (aged 18) ; re-enlisted Co. 
D, 3d Iowa Cavalry, 1863. Served during all campaigns in Tennessee, Missouri and 
Georgia until close of the war. Mustere 1 out with regiment at Atlanta, Ga., April 9, 1S65. 
Was graduated M.D. at Keokuk in 1870. 



A MUTUAL SURPRISE. Iqq 

shouting, ' What do you mean, shooting your own men ! ' 
He was evidently trying to rally what he thought were his 
own men. I shot at him, but missed. I checked to a trot 
and he was soon by my side, and seemed surprised when I 
demanded his revolver. He handed it over, saying, ' I sur- 
render; thought I was with my own men.' I started to the 
rear, and as one of our men asked for the rebel horse, I 
ordered my prisoner to dismount, which he did in a very 
cool and military style. 

" I then started to the rear with him on double-quick. 
Had gone a short distance when he said that he had been 
up all night, and was very tired, and asked me if I would let 
him walk ; which I did. He wanted a horse, but I refused 
to get him one. He then asked me to take him to General 
Pleasanton, as he was personally acquainted with him. 

" I told him that if the General could be found he should 
see him. He then remarked, ' I will tell you who I am.' 
Just then one of Pleasanton's staff came up, and my pris- 
oner introduced himself as General Marmaduke. I again 
started to the rear with the officer. He asked me in what 
troops' hands he was. I told him Iowa. He said he was 
glad he was in Iowa instead of Kansas. We had gone 
but a short distance when we met Gen. C. W. Blair, to 
whom 1 delivered my captive. Blair got a horse and 
mounted General Marmaduke, and asked me to accom- 
pany them to General Curtis. 

"General Blair introduced Marmaduke to Curtis, then 
myself as General Marmaduke's captor. General Curtis 
remarked, ' Right from my own State,' and that he was 
acquainted with my father. I started to the field hospital 



I lo THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

to get my arm dressed, when an officer rode up to me, shook 
my hand warmly, and said, ' My boy, you will hear of this 
day's work in years to come.' 

" Started, in company with a comrade, for the front, but 
had not gone far when my arm began to bleed and become 
so painful that I gave it up and returned to Fort Scott. 

" That night it rained ; my feelings can better be imag- 
ined than described. A boy away from home the first time ; 
a stranger in a strange place ; wet, wounded, dirty, hungry 
and homesick. But General Blair sent for me and treated 
me with great kindness. A load was thus removed from 
my heart for which I shall ever be grateful. 

" As soon as my arm was well enough for duty, I left 
Fort Scott, carrying with me a vivid recollection of the 
kindness of the citizens, and as tokens of their friendship, 
from the ladies an elegant album and a beautiful copy of 
Tom Moore's poetical works, and from the men a brace 
of very handsome ' Colt's navy revolvers.' " 

A rather unique testimonial to military merit in the 

form of a Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Davis 

County, Iowa, is in Dr. Dunlavy's possession. It reads as 

follows : 

Bloomfield, Iowa, 

Ja7i. 12, 1S65. 

WHEREAS it has come to the knowledge of the citizens of this county 
that Private James Dunlavy, Co. D. 3d Iowa Cavalry, did in the late battle 
of Mine Creek, Kansas, between the Federal and Rebel forces, after being se- 
verely wounded in the "arm, by his own personal daring and courage rush upon 
and compel the noted general, Marmaduke (rebel), to surrender to him as a 
prisoner of war, Therefore be it 

Resolved, that we hereby tender the said James Dunlavy the thanks of the 



A UN /QUE TESTIMONIAL. 

citizens of this county for his brave, faithful and distinguished services. Be it 
further 

Resolved, that the clerk of the Board of Supervisors be directed to spread 
this proceeding upon the record of this Board, and that he furnish the said 
James Dunlavy with a copy of same under seal. 

I, William Law, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of Davis County, Iowa, 
certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of proceedings, had by said Board at 
its January term, 1865. 

Witness my hand and Official Seal this 12th day of January, a.d. 1865. 

^' ^- Wm. J. Law, 

Clerk. 












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112 




CORPORAL PATRICK H. MONAGHAN, 
FORTY-EIGHTH PENNSYLVANIA INFANTRY. 



THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

IN every army there may be found enlisted men who are 
not only able to obey orders intelligently under the eye 
of their commanding ofificer, but who can act with energy, 
courage and good judgment when thrown upon their own 
resources in an emergency. 

The armies of the United States have abounded with 
such men — especially in time of war. , 

The " three thinking bayonets," whose adventures are 
described in this chapter, belong to the high type of Amer- 
ican soldiership referred to, and their gallantry was re- 
warded with the Medal. 

I. RECAPTURING THE COLORS. 

Patrick H. Monaghan,* formerly a corporal, Co. F, 
48th Pennsylvania Volunteers, writes as follows : 

* Patrick H. Mo.maghan enlisted (at the age of eighteen) at Minersville, Pa., Aug. 12, 
1861, in Co. F, 4Sth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Promoted Corporal 18. At- 
tached to Battery " M," 3d U. S. .\rtillery, Sept. to Dec, 1863. Served with Army of 
Potomac and in East Tennessee Campaign, until mustered out with regiment, July 17, 
1865. Medal of Honor " for recapture of colors 7th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, June 17, 1864." 

8 113 



J 14 THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

" My recollection of the affair of June 17, 1864, and the 
recapture of the colors of the 7th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, is 
as follows : 

"After crossing the James River on the 15th of June, we 
marched rapidly towards Petersburg, and on the evening of 
the i6th debouched from a dense strip of woods, deployed, 
and double-quicked across a field toward the enemy's 
works. On our approach, a brigade of the Second Corps, 
which occupied a hastily constructed breastwork in front, 
advanced to carry the enemy's works. But after a des- 
perate attempt to storm them, they were repulsed with 
severe loss, especially in prisoners. It was then that the 
New York regiment lost its colors. This was late on the 
evening of the i6th. During the night we manceuvred, 
crossing a marsh that intervened in single file, and took 
position closer to the rebel works. While in this position 
the most profound silence was maintained, as we could 
hear the enemy talking, and every man was notified to 
secure his tin cup and trappings so as to make no noise and 
be ready for a charge. Before daylight the order came, and 
we, with the 36th Massachusetts, dashed forward, under a 
heavy fire, leaped the enemy's breastworks, capturing four 
pieces of artillery, six hundred prisoners, and about a thou- 
sand stand of arms. 

" In leaping the breastworks, a rebel fired, with his gun 
so close to the left side of my head that my hair was 
singed, my cheek slightly burned, and ear injured by the 
concussion so that I feel the effects of it yet. Thomas 
James, a comrade of mine, knocked a rebel down with his 
gun, and Isaac Lewis (another comrade) and a rebel fired 



HAND- TO-HAND. 



115 



at each other, kilHng each other instantly. It was short, 
sharp work and we lost seventy-five men. The enemy 
fell back in confusion toward their second line, while our 
troops occupied the, one just taken. A few of us — a strong 
skirmish line as it were — without orders, pursued them. 
Between the line just taken and the next, the ground was 
undulating, and a small stream of water flowed in a hollow 
thus formed. A growth of small trees and underbrush 
lined either bank of this stream. A part of the enemy 
made a stand here and delivered fire. As we dashed for- 
ward, firing as we went, a young man, whom I took for 
an officer, came towards us, with a handkerchief fastened 
to a rod, reached it to me and said he wished to surrender. 
I asked him to what regiment he belonged, and he replied, 
' The litter corps ' (corresponding, I think, to our stretcher or 
ambulance corps). I directed him to the rear — the line just 
captured and held by our troops — and ran to the edge of 
the woods and fired. A man fell across the small stream 
with his head almost in the water, and immediately a 
tall rebel, who was near, threw down his gun, ran forward, 
caught him, sat on the bank with his feet in the water, and 
placed the head of the wounded man in ]iis lap. I came 
forward, aimed my empty gun, and ordered both to sur- 
render and go to the rear. The tall man cried out, 'Don't 
shoot the Major!' I inquired, 'Major who?' and I 
understood him to say, ' Major Crawford of the 34th Ten- 
nessee.'* I asked the Major to arise, and we both would 
help him back. But he said, ' No, I can't walk, I have just 

* I think he said "34th Tennessee," although it might have been "44th Tennessee," 
as Robert Reed, of Co. " G," captured the colors of that regiment the same morning. 



jj5 three thinking bayonets. 

been wounded. I think my hip is broken.' He seemed 
to be a man, forty or forty-five years of age, with a florid 
complexion, and a reddish beard, clipped short. 

" I then ordered the tall man to go to the rear, but when 
he attempted to rise the Major moaned and said, ' Please 
leave him with me, and you go and get some of your men 
to carry me back,' I replied, ' And he will be gone when I 
return.' He answered, ' I give you my word of honor that 
we both will remain until you come.' The other man said, 
' I saw a stretcher (litter) in there. If we could get it you 
and I might be able to carry him.' Of course all this took 
place in less time than it takes me to tell it. I stepped a 
few paces to the left in search of the stretcher, when a 
rebel, with a gun at a trail and a flag over his shoulder, 
came running toward me. When he saw me he attempted 
to use his piece, but I had him covered, and shouted to 
him to drop his gun and surrender. He dropped it, and I 
ran forward and took the colors from him. 

" I was so elated over getting those colors that I merely 
called to the prisoners to follow me, and not knowing 
whether they did or not, ran excitedly back to the line 
which was still firing over us, who were in the hollow, at 
the retreating rebels beyond the thicket. I fortunately 
approached my own company, who upon seeing me ceased 
firing, set up a cheer, while I leaped upon the breastworks 
and waved the flag. Lieut. John L. Williams, of our com- 
pany, jumped up, embraced me, and the boys pulled us 
both down, as the enemy had opened a pretty live!)- fire 
from their second line by this time. We unfurled the flag 
and found it belonged to the 7th New York Heavy Artil- 



A GOOD DAY'S FISHING. j j - 

lery. The prisoners, except the few we had taken in the 
pursuit, had been sent to the rear by this time. The 
young man who first surrendered to me was still there, but 
was about being sent back under guard. When he saw me 
he said to the captain, ' I am his prisoner, I surrendered to 
him.' 

" I told the captain about the wounded major and the 
other two men. He ordered me to the rear with the pris- 
oner and the colors, and said he would attend to them. 
On my return I understood they were brought in. In the 
centre and on the left was an equally interesting time. 
As I started back I met Lieut.-Col. Pleasants, who com- 
manded the regiment. He congratulated me, and re- 
quested me to give him the colors, bring the prison'er to 
the rear, and report to him on my return. After some hes- 
itation I gave him the flag. I soon overtook the other 
prisoners, escorted by as numerous a guard, from various 
regiments, as they numbered. I turned over mine and 
returned to the front. In the mean time, the regiment had 
moved forward and were throwing up breastworks. It was 
from near this position, a week later, that we commenced 
the mine that we exploded on the 30th of July. 

" General Meade presented three others and me with 
Medals of Honor, December i6th, 1864, at Ninth Corps 
Headquarters in presence of a large part of the Army." 

II. A GOOD DAY'S FISHING. 

One of the operations resulting in the capture of Rich- 
mond was the affair of Hatcher's Run, October 27, 1864. 
Its object was to gain possession of the Southside Railroad. 



jl8 THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

then an important line of supply for the Confederate army. 
Although the attack was unsuccessful, there was some hard 
fighting and many curious happenings yet to be told in 
print. One of these incidents is described by Alonzo 
Smith, then ist Sergeant (since lieutenant) 7th Michigan 
Veteran Volunteer Infantry.* He says : 

" I will give a sketch of what is known as the battle of 
Hatcher's Run, Va., Oct. 27, 1864, so far as my memory 
serves me. The 2d Division, 2d Corps, formed line of battle 
across the Boydton plank-road on quite a high ridge, facing 
towards the south and west. My regiment was a part of 
the left flanking brigade, with its right resting at or near 
said plank-road, extending the line to the left in front of 
the woods that were in our rear ; and on the left of the road, 
as we faced the south and west, our line formed a half cir- 
cle with centre in the advance, my regiment extending 
into the woods towards the plank-road. The brigade was 
composed of 19th and 20th Massachusetts, 42d and 59th 
New York, 1st Minnesota, 36th Wisconsin and 7th Michi- 
gan. The Confederates attacked our right and rear, cap- 
turing the artillery in position on our right. While in this 
position some stragglers came through the woods in rear of 
my regiment. Our colonel then deployed us to the left, 
towards the plank-road, to prevent any stragglers from 
passing our left, we being the left flanking regiment of in- 
fantry within sight or hearing ; although we understood at 



* Alonzo Smith enlisted (on his nineteenth birth-day) Aug. 9, 1861, in the 7th Mich. 
Vol. Infantry. /'rc;«(!i'i'n? corporal, Apr., 1863 ; sergeant, Apr., 1864; first sergeant Nov., 
1864 ; first lieutenant, Dec. g, 1S64. Served through campaigns. Army of the Potomac. 
Wounded 2X Antietam, in left thigh ; at Gettysburg, in left wrist. Medal of Honor for 
capture of flag 26th N. C. Inf., Oct. 27, 1864. 



A WHOLESALE SURNEiyDE/i. 



119 



the time that Gregg's Division of cavalry were the only 
troops on our left. Looking in our rear I saw quite a num- 
ber of men moving towards our line. Calling to Sergeant ^ 
Thomas Smith, who happened to be near me, I asked him 
if he did not think they were ' Rebs.' After a thorough 
look in that direction he pronounced them to be ' Yanks,' 
and started to report to Colonel Lapoint, who then had 
charge of the picket-line a little in our advance. Feeling 
somewhat uneasy as to our position, I went some fifteen or 
twenty rods to the rear and discovered the men to be Con- 
federates, coming directly toward me — every man for him- 
self. Stepping behind a large elm tree, I concluded to 
try a demand for surrender as soon as they came near 
enough. 

" With a loaded musket and fixed bayonet I awaited their 
approach. When within a rod or so, I stepped out from 
my hiding-place and demanded a surrender, which they did 
not appear to heed. I made the second demand when 
their line ofificers came to the front, and I saw that none of 
them had side-arms. They said they w^ould surrender to 
me if I would take them out of there all right. They 
wished to know if we had any troops in there, and m what 
direction I was going to take them out. I pointed to the 
direction of the plank-road, when they said it would be 
taking them back into their own lines. I informed them 
that we had a division only a few rods from me. Their 
officers then told the men to throw down their arms and 
surrender. I then called to Alfred Bordine and John 
Cramer, they being the first I saw after the surrender. 

" The eood news soon reached the regiment and a guard 



120 THREE THIXKIXG BAYOAETS. 

formed who helped the discomfited Confederates to remove 
their cartridge-boxes, and I kindly became the color-bearer 
of the 26th North Carolina. Just as I had taken the colors 
from the sergeant, Colonel Lapoint came to the scene and 
wished to know what I had been doing. He then told me 
to take a guard and report to General Hancock, whose 
headquarters were in an open field to our left, and across 
the plank-road. I obeyed the order, and General Hancock 
directed me to report the prisoners to the provost-marshal. 

" The same night the army fell back to their old camp, 
and through some mistake of the aides my regiment and 
the 59th N. Y. were left to their fate.' When daylight 
came, the colonel discovered their position and started for 
the rear, but had not crossed the first field when a squad of 
rebel cavalry made a dash on them, which was repulsed by 
a volley from the boys in blue. They then formed a skir- 
mish line and kept under shelter of the woods. The color- 
bearer of the State f^ag took the flag from the staff and put 
it around his body, under his shirt ; the U. S. flag was torn 
to pieces, each man putting a piece in his pocket. 

" After wandering through the woods, avoiding openings 
as much as possible, they became lost. Going to a log 
cabin they found an old negro, who was willing to pilot 
them to the Union lines, where they arrived after two days' 
tramping. The old contraband was sent to Monroe, Mich- 
igan, by the regiment, as a reward for his services. 

"The number of prisoners for which my regiment re- 
ceived credit at the engagement on Hatcher's Run, Va., 
was 20 officers and 480 enlisted men." 



AX INDEPENDENT BA TTER Y. j 2 I 

This was an extraordinary haul for one lone fisherman, 
but shows what a thoroughly wide awake sergeant may 
do. 




BVT. CAPTAIN PETER T. ANDERSON, 
LATE CORPORAL 3IST WISC. INFANTRY. 

III. AN INDEPENDENT BATTERY, 

In the year 1840, when Chicago was a village, among the 
arrivals there were two Norwegians — husband and wife — 
on their way to a new home in free America, where land 
was cheap and where industry and thrift have ever been 
rewarded with success. 

They settled in Wisconsin, on the banks of the East 
Pecatonica River, and erected a homestead, where in due 
time numerous olive branches grew up around the worthy 
couple, and became the seasoned timber of which true 
American citizens and, when needed, good Union soldiers 
are made. When the great war came, two of the boys volun- 
teered to fight under the old flag. One, Gotack, gave his 
life to his country in one of the battles near Atlanta, in 



122 THREE THINKIXG BAYOXETS. 

1864. The Other, PETER T. ANDERSON,* enlisted in a Wis- 
consin regiment at the age of sixteen, and before the close 
of the war, in which he served to the bitter end, had given 
many proofs of his hardy Norway blood and his healthy 
American training. His is one of the few instances in 
which a private soldier has been honored with a brevet 
commission as captain, for a special act of gallantry in the 
presence of the enemy. 

Anderson had tramped with his regiment under General 
Sherman on the Great March to the Sea, and after the 
capture of Savannah, had found himself still under the lead- 
ership of " Uncle Billy " — as Sherman was affectionately 
called by his men — close at the heels of the distinguished 
Confederate, Joe Johnston. 

Occasionally the enemy would turn and snap viciously at 
his pursuers. 

One of these occasions was at Bentonville, March 19, 

1865. It is thus described by Captain Anderson, then 
Corporal Co. B, 31st Wisconsin Infantry: 

" The morning opened fair and warm. About one o'clock, 
and just after dinner, we forded a stream. While we were 
crossing the stream our major, Robert Stepherson, asked 
me to fill his canteen with water and then get into an am- 
bulance and ride, as he thought I looked too sick to march. 
I told him I never had been in an ambulance and would 
rather stay with my company. We were ordered down 



* Peter T. Anderson- enlisted Sept. S, 1863, in Co. B, 31st Wisconsin Infantrj'. Pro- 
moted QovpotdX " for gallantry at Averygboro, N. C," March 16, 1S65. Breveted captain 
Wisconsin Volunteers (page 112). Served in the Western Army continuously until 
mustered out with regiment at Louisville, July 8, 1865. Medal of Honor " for gallant 
conduct in saving gun of 14th Corps from capture," Bentonville, N. C, March 19, 1865. 



FALLING BACK IX GOOD ORDER. j2? 

close to the left of the turnpike leading to Bentonville ; 
the timber grew quite large and thick ^ where we were 
formed in line of battle. About four rods in front of our 
regiment there was an open field ; about a quarter of a mile 
across it we could see the Rebs forming their lines. In the 
mean time, our men were cutting down trees and piling 
them up for temporary breastworks. There were only 
three regiments of our brigade there. We had only a few 
minutes to work, as the Rebs saw (or thought they saw) a 
chance of gobbling us up — a large gap between us and the 
14th Corps. They fell upon both our flanks about the 
same time ; our right flank gave way first. Our regiment 
was on the left flank and my Co. (B) on the extreme left. 
When we saw the Rebs were clear to our rear, on both of 
our flanks, we fell back in great disorder, some of the boys 
going so far to the rear that they never got back until noon 
the next day. We ran towards the rear, on the other side 
of the pike, and behind where we formed our first line the 
19th Indiana Battery was stationed. The men had aban- 
doned three of their guns. After most all of our brigade 
had passed them, some one (think it was one of the battery 
boys) shouted : ' For God's sake, save the battery ! ' 

" I said to one of our men (George Neamiah) that I was 
going back to get the battery ; he said I was a d — d fool if 
I did ; but back I went. The gun nearest the road was 
' limbered up ' and ready to move. The team consisted of 
a pair of mules on the lead, while the ' swing ' and wheel- 
ers were horses. I soon got them started by using my 
ramrod for a whip. I only had about four rods to go to 
reach the pike. Just as I got to the pike, the rebels began 



124 



THREE THIXKIXG BAYONETS. 



to flock around me pretty thick. AH the time I kept giv- 
ing it to the horses with my ramrod. Once I undertook to 
get into the saddle of the wheel team ; just as I was going 
to mount a bullet struck the strap of the stirrup and cut it 
in two. The enemy began to think they were likely to lose 
their prize, and all began to shoot at me (or at the horses, 
as they were badly wounded), and some of them used 
pretty rough language, telling me to surrender. There was 
one Johnnie rode right up to me, with a Colt's revolver 
drawn and pointed at me, and shouted, ' Surrender ! you 
d — d Yankee.' He had hardly uttered the words before 
one of our boys shot him from his horse. 

" The Rebs followed me up close till they saw our brigade 
forming. Colonel West, taking command, said, ' We will 
hold this position or die right here.' My ramrod was bent 
double from trying to load my gun as I was running. So 
when I got to the regiment the colonel told me to go to 
the rear, as I could do no good there with a broken ramrod 
and my hand badly bruised. I took the gun and horses to 
the rear with me. As I approached the batteries that were 
massed in our rear, an officer (I think it was the chief of 
artillery) stepped in front of the Avorks they had thrown up 
and asked me what battery I belonged to. I told him I 
was 'Independent.' I told him in a few words all I knew 
about it. Then he asked me if I would let him use the 
gun, and of course I consented. Then I went to the rear 
of the battery and sat down under a tree. I sat there 
about ten minutes when an orderly came along with a ram- 
rod in his hand. I asked him to give it to me as mine was 
broken. He gave it to me. I started right away for my 



RECONNOITRING. 



125 



company, and got there just as the rebels were making 
their second charge. They charged us five times, but we 
checked them every time, 

" Just after dusk that evening the Major asked me to pick 
a few men to go with me to reconnoitre in our front, and 
see where the enemy were. Our regiment was instructed 
not to fire until we got in, even if we did shoot a little in 
front of them. We started, and kept in the dark as much 
as possible ; several of the pitch-pine trees were burning, 
and made it quite light in some places. After advancing 
about two hundred yards several rebels jumped up and 
shouted, ' We surrender ! ' There were ten or twelve of 
them and only five of us. We took them into our lines, 
which was just what they wanted. The next day we buried 
the dead of both armies, and on the twenty-first started for 
Raleigh, N. C, where we lay until the surrender of John- 
ston's army." 



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LIEUTENANT JOSIAH M. CURTIS, 
TWELFTH WEST VA. IKFANTRV. 



HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOONS. 

THE Sword has been often, in figure of speech, " turned 
into a ploughshare," but has seldom been likened unto 
a sickle, with which in olden time the harvest was gathered. 
And yet, in the last month of the Civil War in America, 
Farmer Grant made just that use of the sabres of his caval- 
rymen, while with the bayonets of his infantry the over- 
ripe crops of rebel resistance — the weary soldiers, the droop- 
ing battle-flags, the flying artillery, the stampeded wagon 
trains — were tossed into Uncle Sam's barns. 

Many of the reapers were rewarded with the Medal. 
Let us glance at the record in three cases. 

I. THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 

The month of April, 1865, was a black one in the Confed- 
erate calendar. Ere its second day was spent two heavy 
blows had been struck at General Lee's army, and while 
the enemy was reeling under the shock, General Grant 

126 



THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 



127 



ordered others to be delivered in quick succession. The 
outer intrenchments of Petersburg had fallen into the 
hands of the victorious Yankees, and of the inner line of 
works there only remained two small but strong forts, called 
Gregg and Whitworth. General Grant says : " We thought 
it had now become necessary to carry them by assault. 
About one o'clock in the day Fort Gregg was assaulted by 
Foster's Division of the Twenty-fourth Corps (Gibbon's), 
supported by two brigades from Ord's command. The bat- 
tle was desperate, and the national troops were repulsed 
several times ; but it was finally carried, and immediately 
the troops in Fort Whitworth evacuated the place. The 
guns of Fort Gregg were turned upon the retreating 
enemy." 

Of the assaulting force, one young officer"^ greatly dis- 
tinguished himself. His 'father (Brevet Brigadier-General 
W. B. Curtis, late Colonel 12th W. V. Infantry) furnishes 
the following account : 

" I was commanding the 2d Brigade, Independent Divis- 
ion, which consisted of the 12th West Va., 54th Pa., and 
23d 111. (Gen. Mulligan's Irish Regiment). Lieutenant Cur- 
tis was then acting as aide on my staff. The assault was 
first made on the Confederates by the 6th Corps, and their 
line was broken. The fighting during the night was terrific, 
the artillery and infantry both being engaged. When day 
dawned on the morning of the 2d of April, we discovered 



* Lieut. JosiAH M. Curtis enlisted as a private, D, 12th West Virginia Infantry, Aug. 
25, 1862, at the age of sixteen years. Promoted through successive grades to 2d lieut. 
Dec. 16, 1864. Served under Milroy and Hunter, 1S63, and under Sheridan in campaign of 
1864 in the Valley of Virginia; honorably mustered out of service in 1865; awarded Medal 
of Honor for gallant conduct in battle, April 2, 1865. 



J 28 HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOONS. 

that the enemy were evacuating their works. We were 
ordered to attack a large fort, which we took without any 
material loss, as the enemy had mostly withdrawn. Our 
division was ordered to move along the Confederate works 
towards Petersburg. We captured many prisoners on our 
route, meeting with no opposition until we came to forts 
Gregg and Whitworth, south of Petersburg. Fort Gregg 
was surrounded by a ditch, flooded with water, about eight 
feet wide and four or five feet deep, and manned by the 
48th Mississippi Infantry (a part of Mahones Brigade). 
Gen. Foster, who was commanding the first division of our 
corps, had made two or three assaults on the fort, being 
repulsed each time with heavy loss. Our division com- 
mander, when we came up, ordered me to charge. After. a 
desperate struggle we succeeded in crossing the ditch, — 
pulling each other up the bank — and planting our colors on 
top of the parapet, captured the fort. In this assault 
Major Davis of the 54th P. V., and three color-bearers of 
the 1 2th W. v., were killed before we succeeded in planting 
the colors upon the parapet. 

" My son, Lieut. J. M. Curtis, after the third man had 
been killed, grabbed the colors in his left hand, and cheering 
the men on in the charge, a rush was made into the fort, and 
after a short struggle the enemy surrendered. The Medal 
of Honor was given to him for gallant conduct in this as- 
sault. 

" This was the last place the enemy attempted to hold in 
front of Richmond ; they commenced to evacuate the city 
that day. My regiment was presented by our corps com- 
mander with a golden eagle to surmount our State colors, 



AT THE '' LAST DITCHr I2q 

inscribed as follows: ' Presented to the 12th West Va. Vol. 
Infantry by their corps commander, Gen. John Gibbon, for 
gallant conduct in the assault upon Fort Gregg, in front of 
Petersburg, on the 2d day of April, 1865.' The loss of our 
corps in this assault was 715 killed and wounded. Lieu- 
tenant Curtis, with his regiment and brigade, also partici- 
pated in the pursuit of Lee, until he surrendered at Appo- 
mattox Court House, marching thirty-five miles on the Sth 
of April to get to the support of Sheridan. 

"Lieutenant Curtis was one of the ofTficers appointed ta 
take charge of the Confederate colors, which were surren- 
dered and sent to Washington. Gen. Gibbon, our corps 
commander, who had seen service all through the war, and 
participated in some of the hardest-fought battles that oc- 
curred, says in his report that this was one of the most 
desperate assaults made during the war." " 

In a conversation that took place the night after the as- 
sault between some of Mulligan's Irish Regiment, one w^as 
overheard to say : 

" Moike, did yez moind young Cortis, standin' on the 
parrypet av the foort, wid the colors in wan fisht an his 
soord in the other? Be me faith, he luk'd loike he avuz 
afther takin' a lape entoo Gayhanna ! " 

II. A FOOT SOLDIER AT "THE LAST DITCH." t 
"Since the day that Sheridan's cavalry, the Fifth Corps, 

* " The whole capture since the army started out gunning will amount to not less than 
12,000 men, and probably fifty pieces of artillery." — Grant's Memoirs. 

t Lieut. Rt-DOLPH R. Riddell (late 6ist N. Y. Vols.). He enlisted in iS6i, at the age of 
fifteen, as a drummer, and was promoted through intermediate grades to rank of Lieu- 
tenant, commanding a company. Honorably discharged 1865. Awarded Medal of Honor 
for capture of flag at Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1365. (This account of the battle is by 
Mr. Riddell.) 

9 



I30 



HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOONS. 



and Miles Division of the Second (to which we belonged) 
had struck Lee's extreme right, rolling him back and doub- 
ling him up, we had been straining every power to * finish 
the job,' as Sheridan had expressed it to Grant. To this 
end the pursuit was vigorous. The now desperate enemy, 
finding himself too closely pressed, would frequently and 




LIEUTENANT R. R. RIDDELL, 
SIXTV-FIRST N. V. VOLUNTEERS. 



with great suddenness turn upon us. This made the many 
engagements which took place along the line of retreat and 
pursuit generally unexpected, and always sharp and deadly. 
' Keep 'em on a jump,' was Sheridan's characteristic order, 
and inspired with victory the order was carried out with 
terrible energy. Thus the two armies swept their stormy 
course from Petersburg to Appomattox. 

" Near the close of that race for life the enemy's converg- 
ing columns reached a point on Sailor's Creek, and taking 
up a position of great natural strength upoa the further 
bluffs that border the creek, faced their pursuers, for what 



SAILOR'S CREEK. j^j 

proved to be the last and greatest struggle of the retreat. 
It was the veritable ' last ditch ' into which, for four years, 
we had been trying to get them. 

"I remember we had pressed on one day, with frequent 
heavy skirmishes, until late at night, nearly exhausted, we 
threw ourselves upon the ground to get what rest a soldier 
may under such circumstances. The morning (the 6th of 
April, I believe) broke dark and lowery, and the weather 
continued heavy, with frequent shoAvers throughout the 
day. At an early hour we were under arms, but instead of 
taking up the pursuit and moving out with promptness, 
there were certain dispositions made, and positions taken, 
which seemed to indicate that we had something more seri- 
ous to undertake than a rapid march after a flying foe. To 
men who have served four years and fought a score of bat- 
tles, the signs of approaching battle are pretty clear. I was 
ordered by our adjutant to take my company, with full 
supply of cartridges, and report to brigade headquarters. 
As I had been on the skirmish lines all the preceding day, 
I indulged in a little quiet reasoning, while preparations 
were being made, as to the probable service before me ; and 
as it was not customary to detail the same of^cers and 
men for skirmish line or picket duty two days in succession, 
I drew my conclusions, and they made me homesick. 

" However, I was scared too soon ; just as I was about to 
file off with old Company B, I was informed that the order 
was recalled and I could keep my place in line. Firing 
now began in our front, telling us the skirmish line was 
feeling the enemy, and warning us that the services of a 
line of battle mieht be needed. The woods in which we 



132 



HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOONS. 



were, and the general conformation of the ground, con- 
cealed the position of the eneni)' from that part of the lines. 
But as the firing became heavier, we were moved forward in 
line, and soon came to the edge of the woods, and halted 
for a moment just within shelter. Walking forward a few 
yards with some brother of^cers, we saw our skirmish lines 
about half way down the slope, hotly engaged with a strong 
skirmish line of the enem}-, who were posted along the 
creek, and in little squads by the bridge, and at several 
places sheltered by trees and bushes on the slope leading 
up to the enemy's position on the ridge beyond. It was 
perhaps a third of a mile from our position to theirs, but 
the creek did not evenly divide the valley. From our crest 
the descent was more gradual, and the distance to the 
creek much greater than from the crest occupied b}' the 
enemy. Running diagonally from left to right down the 
slope, on our front, to the creek, was a broad road, badly 
cut up by the passage of the enemy's trains, and parth' con- 
cealed from us, because cutting in places quite deeph' into 
the side of the slope, leaving the upper bank deep and 
steep ; but after leaving the bridge it rose clear and distinct 
in its diagonal course to the creek beyond. I have a de- 
cidedly clear recollection of that road. It impressed me, as 
standing upon the wooded crest I saw its broad, red course 
as it left the creek and rose to the opposite crest, strewn 
with the cast-off clothing and equipments of a retreating 
army, together with its steep upper bank ; and as our line of 
charge, if direct, would take us across it, I wondered how 
the boys would manage to get up that wet and slippery 
bank. But it impressed itself upon me more substantial!}' 



AjV infantry " CHARGE." , -^ 2 

soon after, when, in charging down, about a quarter of the 
regiment rolled pell mell down its steep bank, carrying an 
undignified quantity of the muddy, sticky sacred soil with 
us, and making us look like an outlaw band of Sioux braves 
painted for the war-path. Those who get the idea that a 
line of battle charges as if dressed on a straight edge, with 
guns aligned to a hair at an angle of forty-five degrees, with 
alternate movements of right and left legs, so perfect and 
together as to enable you to look down the entire line and 
see the triangular hole made by the bend of their knees, 
ought to see the real article as it tears its way through 
brush and woods ; as it tosses and heaves across fields ; as it 
bends and billows and crowds itself up the slope; as it reels 
and roars and plunges itself upon the enemy, perhaps to 
recoil broken into fragments, streaming back to shelter. 
This latter is just the way we went down that slope, across 
the run and up to the crest beyond. We did not wait long 
in the edge of the woods before the order came, and burst- 
ing forth we began the charge. The artillery opened on us 
at once, and as we neared the run the musketry joined in 
the A\-ork of death. Many a brave fellow was struck down 
before the crest was reached. Especially was the loss heavy 
during the struggle up the rise, beyond the creek. It was 
like all other charges of like magnitude, impossible to de- 
scribe ; the terrible rush of armed men, the hoarse com- 
mands, the fierce energy of action, the smoke and tumult 
and tempest of cannon and musketry are beyond descrip- 
tion. We reached the crest, pausing a moment to pour our 
fire into their ranks, then leaped forward with the smoke, 
tore our way through the brush and tree-tops with which 



134 



HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOONS. 



they had hastily covered their works, swarmed over it 
shouting, yelling, struggling a moment in the awful chaos, 
broke and crushed them, and — well, it was all over in less 
time than it takes to tell it. 

" Colors were captured all along the line. It's easy 
enough. All one has to do is to be there and go in with the 
crowd, and be careful not to let too many get ahead of him, 
else the first choice of flags is lost. There are some risks, 
however. If the fellow who carries the flag is obstinate, 
and don't want to give it up, you can hand him your card, 
or use any other inducement which may occur to you at 
the time. 

"Those of us who took flags were soon after permitted 
to go to Washington and present them to the Secretary of 
War; were granted a leave of absence or furlough for thirty 
days, and a Medal of Honor from Congress." 

III. A CAVALRY REAPER.* 

" Uncle Elliott, I think I'd like to be a soldier." 
The speaker was a handsome boy of fifteen, just at the 
age when boys are apt to run to hero-worship, and Charlie 
Jackson's hero was his Uncle Elliott, who had fought in the 
war under Custer and Sheridan, and who, long before Char- 
lie had opened his eyes on this world, had been honorably 
mustered out of service, and turned his attention to the 
quieter pursuits of an American citizen. 
" Why do you say that, Charlie ? " 

* Elliott M. Norton enlisted as a private (B) 6th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, Oct. ii, 
1862. Promoted through intermediate grades to rank of lieutenant and adjutant, served 
with his regiment in the field in Virginia, and for a few months on the Western frontier, 
and was mustered out at Salt Lake Citv in 1865. 



A CA VALR Y REAPER. 



135 



"Well, I've been reading ' Charles O'Malley, or the Irish 
Dragoon.' Did you ever read it ? It's a daisy book, I tell 
you." 

"Oh! That's the reason, is it? Yes, I've read it, but I 
wouldn't like to say just how long ago ; and I'm inclined to 
think it had the same effect on me. At any rate, when the 
war came, in 1861, I was wild to ' jine the cavalry,' as we 
used to. say." 




LIEUTENANT ELLIOTT M. NORTON, 

ADJUTANT SIXTH MICH. CAVALRY. % 

" I say, Uncle, tell me something about the cavalry and 
how you got the Medal and all." 

"Well, my boy, there isn't so much to tell — (just hand 
me those slippers and my old brier-wood pipe — seems to 
bring me back to camp-life again). Four years of fighting 
and marching are equal to a lifetime of peaceful pursuits 
here at home. Time travels very slowly when minutes of 
excitement seem like days, and when hours of suspense are 
like months at other times. But it doesn't take long to teU 
about, as we sit here now." 



Ij5 HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOOISfS. 

" Uncle Elliott, how did you feel in your first battle ? " 
"Well, the first fight, I think, was at Hanover, in Vir- 
ginia, on the 30th of June, 1863. I don't remember much 
about it now, only that. I was badly frightened, and sup- 
posed we must all be killed. It did not seem possible that 
any one could live in such a shower of lead. It literally 
rained bullets. I determined to sell my life dearly and 
just ' waded in.' A few days after, we had a stubborn fight 
at Hunterstown, Pennsylvania. We drove the enemy, and I 
was surprised to find myself alive and able to go into camp 
at night. The fact was, I was getting used to it a little ; it 
seemed that w^hen I had plenty to do I forgot the danger." 
" Uncle, which was the greatest battle of the war?" 
" Charlie, that's rather a hard question to answer. Per- 
haps the most important single battle was Gettysburg, when 
we drove General Lee's army across the Potomac, and, it 
was said, ' broke the back-bone of the Rebellion.' " 
"Were }'Ou at Gettysburg, Uncle?" 

" Not precisely at the town, but all around the neighbor- 
hood.., On the third day we were engaged part of the time 
with the enemy's cavalry, and part of the time in support- 
ing some artillery. This last is the worst sort of service — 
to stand still, while every now and then a solid shot will 
come rolling along like a base-ball, and knock down a 'set 
of fours' like so many tin soldiers ; or a shell may explode 
just over you, and cut off limbs of trees and drop them on 
you. This sort of thing tries the nerves of horses and men, 
you may depend. But there is nothing to do for it but 
just to close in the gaps made by a horse falling in the 
ranks, or, "wounded, backing frantically clear out of them." 



THE DA V AFTER GETTYSBURG. j o- 

Charlie seemed much impressed by this serious ghmpse 
of real war. He sat silent for some minutes, while his 
uncle puffed away at the brier-wood. 

Suddenly the boy burst forth with a new query. 

" Did you ever kill a man ? " 

" I am afraid I have — in the line of duty ; probably sev- 
eral, but I only recollect one, and that was in self- 
defence." 

" Where was that, sir? " 

" It was on the glorious Fourth (the day after the battle 
of Gettysburg), at Monterey, Maryland. Although the 
enemy were firing rapidly from their field batteries and our 
artillery replied, and our men kept up a lively racket on the 
skirmish line with their carbines, I confess it has seemed 
much more deafening in a real old-fashioned Grand Rapids 
' Fourth.' We had some hand-to-hand encounters. One 
gigantic rebel captain — at least he seemed so at the time- — 
sprang from behind a high stump (we were fighting on foot), 
and fired right into my face. The bullet went through the 
rim of my hat, pretty near the crown. The pistol was so 
close that the smoke and flash almost blinded me for a 
second. At the same moment I fired, and the ' Johnnie ' 
fell back with a groan. At that moment something else 
claimed my attention, and I never knew whether my enemy 
was dead or only wounded." 

" Were you an officer then, Uncle?" 

" No, only a sergeant ; but I can tell you, I never felt 
prouder than when my captain promoted me to be a non- 
commissioned officer of our company, July i, 1863." 



jog . HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOONS. 

" Was that the narrowest escape you had in the war, 
Uncle?" 

" No, I suppose our charge on the rebel rear-guard at 
Falling Waters, July 14, of the same year, was ' the closest 
call ' I ever had. The enemy had crossed the Potomac, 
and feeling secure from any pursuit in force by our army, 
was resting some of his infantry on the opposite bank. 
The Michigan brigade was ordered to advance a short dis- 
tance and form in line. My regiment, the 6th Michigan 
Cavalry, was then moved forward very quietly to within 
two hundred yards and halted, and companies ' B,' of which 
I was sergeant, and ' F ' — in all about one hundred men— 
Avere ordered to charge the breastworks which the enemy 
had thrown up to cover the crossing. It was a greater 
blunder than the ' Charge of the Six Hundred ' at Balaclava, 
from which less than two hundred returned. But our offi- 
cers and men never faltered. 

" Theirs not to reason why. 
Theirs but to do and die." 

" The enemy at that point comprised a large force of 
infantry, who could have successfully resisted a brigade of 
cavalry. What chance do you think our little squadron 
had? 

" Well, a Confederate soldier who saw the whole affair 
answers the question.* He says : 

" ' As Heth's Division, guarding the line of the retreat of 
the main army," reached Falling Waters, near the Potomac, 
while lying on the ground with arms stacked, in a state of 



* "A Confederate Soldier," in the Southern Bivouac. 



CHARGE OF THE OA'E HUNDRED:' 



139 



presumed security, they were attacked by the enemy under 
the following circumstances : 

"'Generals Heth and Pettigrew, Capt. Jas. H. Moore, 
and other officers, from an eminence, were reviewing the route 
over which they had just travelled, when all of a sudden a 
small force of cavalry burst forth from a skirt of woods 
about two hundred yards distant. The little group took 
the cavalry for Confederates. The cavalry then displayed 
Ahe United States flag, and galloping up to Pettigrew, with 
swords drawn, shouted out '' Surrender ! " They rushed 
over the little group, firing their pistols and mortally wound- 
ing General Pettigrew. These brave fellows then attacked 
the command of Heth. Heth's men very soon realized the 
situation of things, and seizing their muskets, opened on 
this party with effect, and very soon despatched the force, 
tumbling them out of their saddles in every direction. 
They were all killed or wounded in a very few moments. 
This was the last battle fought north of the Potomac in the 
Gettysburg campaign.' 

" You see, Charlie, he says ' they were all killed or 
wounded,' but that is not quite true. Of that devoted band 
of one hundred, I and five others rode back ; the rest fell 
victims of a foolish order. 

" You asked me if it was a narrow escape. You can 
judge for yourself. A rifle ball took off my hat, another 
pierced every thickness but two of my overcoat, which was 
rolled and strapped on the cantle of my saddle ; three bul- 
lets passed through my clothes and three through my horse. 
What a charger he was, Charlie ! A superbly built black, 
nearly seventeen hands high, and as active as a cat. I saw 



I40 



HORSE, FOOT AND DRAGOONS. 



both my officers fall, and the detachment almost ' wiped 
out ' in two or three minutes. I turned to leave when a 
Confederate infantryman thrust his piece almost in my face 
and fired. My face was filled with powder, and the ball 
cut off a lock of my hair, which was rather long and thick; 
with my sabre I struck the barrel of the musket an up- 
ward blow, and at the same time took a downward cut at 
the Johjinie. Without wasting any time, however, my horse 
carried me back over the works and, while I laid as close to 
his neck as a Comanche, used the spur and flat of my sabre 
on his sides. He carried me to our lines, nearly a quarter of 
a mile away, and as I dismounted, the grand old fellow 
sank down in a heap, shivered and was dead." 

" Was there much fighting the last year of the war?" 
" Yes : the year 1864 was a constant series of hard strug- 
gles on both sides. Our cavalry was improving in every 
respect, and our supply of horses was unlimited ; the enemy 
was running short of horses and supplies of all kinds, and 
their horsemen were getting discouraged." 

" Now, Uncle Elliott, tell me how you captured the flag." 
" It was near the last gasp of the war, only a day or two 
before Lee's surrender — Sailor's Creek,* it was called. The 
battle began about half-past three o'clock in the afternoon. 
I was then a lieutenant and acting-adjutant of my regiment. 
At five-thirty we were pursuing the enemy in ' column of 
fours ' at a gallop. I was riding at the head of the regi- 
ment with the colonel. Seeing a squad of the enemy, about 
twenty in number, about sixty rods to the left with a battle- 
flag, I left the regiment and went for them, with no other 

* This is the same battle described by Lieutenant Riddell, page 130. 



ANOTHER FLAG-CAPTURE. I^I 

object than to capture a flag. I had made several attempts 
to do this before, but failed. When within six or ei^ht 
rods of the party they fired together at me, leaving their 
carbines empty, and me unharmed. With drawn sabre I 
rushed upon them and ordered them to throw down their 
arms, which they did. They did not so quickly give up 
the flag. But I suppose they saw I was bound to have it, 
and as some of our troops were now ahead of these Confed- 
erates they sullenly resigned the flag to my care. Tearing 
it from the staff and thrusting it inside my coat, I told my 
prisoners to fall into line and start for the rear. 

" It was after seven o'clock that evening when I overtook 
the command, then going into camp. I kept my prize a 
secret until evening, when as we (the colonel and I occupied 
the same tent) were about turning in I told Col. Vinton 
that if he would promise not to say anything I would show 
him something. He agreed, and I then pulled out my 
trophy. The old war-dog fairly danced with delight. 

" ' Jeems' River ! ' cried he, ' my regiment shall have the 
honor of capturing that flag. No, Adjutant, I shall break 
faith with you ! ' And he did. But I forgave him. 

"After the surrender, I was ordered to Washington, in 
company with a number of other flag-captors, to turn over 
to the Secretary of War all the flags captured by the cavalry 
corps. Here we each received a furlough of thirty days 
and a Medal of Honor. 

" My battle-flag belonged to the 44th Tennessee Regi- 
ment. It was of heavy silk, 12 x 4^ feet in dimensions, with 
gilt stars and bars, and the motto ' Death to Invaders.' " 

"Well, Uncle, that is very interesting; but although you 



1^2 HORSE, FOOT AXD DRAGOONS. 

ran a great risk of getting shot when you went for the flag, 
it seems to me that the Southern color-guard gave up the 
flag pretty easily to one man." 

" Ah, my boy, those were gallant men. They had fought 
us during four long, weary, years ; but when they saw our 
forces closing around them on that day, they realized that 
the end had come, and then resistance died out with the 
last volley from their carbines. Just how they felt is de- 
scribed by an eloquent Southern soldier, who, writing of this 
very occasion, says : 

" ' Soon we hear the notes of a cavalry bugle. How mer- 
rily it sings ! how defiant its tones ! how martial the strains 
as the gentle south wind brings its cadence to our ears ! It 
is no stranger to us, for its strains we have heard before, 
and we know their meaning. It is Custer's trumpeter, rally- 
ing his dashing squadrons to the headlong charge. We fall 
back to the foot of the hill to receive it. A Georgia brig- 
ade re-enforces us. On, on they come, as though on pleas- 
ure bent. The sharp clang of sabres is heard as they fly 
from the scabbards. A moment more they flash in the 
sunlight, magnificently. The enemy ascends the summit of 
the hill and dash on us. We pour in a deadly and appalling 
volley, and thirty brave fellows fall from their saddles. 
The conflict is short, sharp, and decisive, and the gallant 
Custer and his squadron fall back before overwhelming 
numbers as gayly and gallantly as they came. But the lines 
are closing around -us, and the Confederacy is in its death 
throes. Four hours later and the bloody conflict of Sailor's 
Creek closes the last chapter in its melancholy history. 

" ' Nearly all of Ewell's Corps are captured. Oh, the an- 



CUSTER AT SAILOR'S CREEK. j., 

guish of the hour! We saw, surrendered, eighteen battle- 
flags which bore upon their tattered folds the historic 
names of Manassas, Cold-Harbor, the Wilderness and 
Spottsylvania Court-House. Wait ! Every cloud has its 
silver lining. The next morning, after a refreshing slumber 
on the sweetest of all beds — the bare ground — we are again 
marshalled in line. 

" ' Down that line came General Custer. By his yellow 
hair and boyish face he is known to all of us. Near the 
centre of the line he turns to his band and orders it to play 
*' Dixie." As the marvellous strains of the Confederate 
war-song floated in liquid sweetness around us, we break 
into tumultuous cheering. General Custer waves his hat, 
and a thousand gallant soldiers in blue dash their caps in 
the air. 

" ' Such was General Custer in the presence of a con- 
quered foe. Here might the artist have found his inspira- 
tion for " Custer's Last Rally," and the Southern poet who 
wrote : 

" ' The nations of the earth shall know 
That love, not hate, alone can glow 
In soldier-hearts by valor tried 
On many a field, and this our pride, 
When heroes of the Blue and Gray 
Shall each to each due homage pay, 
And scorn with all their martial souls 
The cowards base and venal ghouls 
Who shunned the conflict they had bred, 
And live but to malign the dead.' "* 

* "A Confederate Soldier," in the Southern Bivouac. 




FIGHTING THE KATTLE o'ER AGAIN. 



144 




FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 



IT was a wet day in November at the Soldiers' Home. 
Four veterans of the War of the Rebelhon were enjoy- 
ing themselves in an innocent fashion. Two were playing 
chess. It was not serious chess by any mean's, and when- 
ever the players lagged in the conversation they were 
cheerfully relieved by the others, who appeared to act as 
seconds in a peculiar game — they called it in old soldier 
slang, "swapping lies." All, but one, were smoking pipes, 
and punctuating their talk with puffs, now and then taking 
the pipe out of the mouth and waving it in a lofty manner, 
intended to be at once impressive and convincing. One of 
the players was a white-haired man, who had been with 
Sherman in the Great March to the Sea, and now, being 
without kindred, he was spending his last days upon one of 

145 



J. 6 FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 

the most beautiful of the green pastures for ancient war- 
horses that a grateful country has provided. 

They were talking of the promptness with which the 
people of the North answered the President's call to arms 
in the early days of the war, 

"Well," said old Sergeant Bent, "none on 'em did bet- 
ter'n Illinoy." 

" Ohio wa'nt no slouch them days," remarked Private 
Strong, who was standing behind the first speaker, nursing 
his elbow. 

''That's so," grunted Peter Williams, who never indulged 
in long sentences, but was generally supposed among his 
associates to do " a heap of thinking." 

The fourth man — Corporal Prim — was more laconic still. 
After poring over the chess-board for a few moments he 
briefly remarked, " Check ! " 

By mutual consent a halt was called, and the ancient 
Sergeant, taking up the thread where he had dropped it, 
continued : " I ain't a going back on Ohio ; she done noble ; 
but as an Illinoy soldier I hev a pride in her war record. 
See here what the adjutant-general of the State said in 
his report. I cut it out a long time ago." The old man 
produced a great leathern wallet, and turning over a bundle 
of discharges and pension papers found a newspaper clip- 
ping which he handed over to Comrade Strong, saying, 
"Your eyes better'n mine ; jest read that to the crowd." 

With one hand raised to fix the attention of his listeners. 
Strong read the following : 

" ' The order of the Secretary of War, making the call upon 
this State, assumed that a draft would be necessary, and in 



ILLINOIS PATRIOTISM. I47 

anticipation that the States would not be able to contribute 
their quotas of the call in July (1862), announced that if any 
State should not, by the i8th of August, furnish its quota 
of the three-years volunteers, the deficiency would be made 
up by special draft from the militia. . . . These vigorous 
measures gave hope of a speedy termination of this terrible 
war. The p'eople of the State received the announcement 
with the wildest excitement and most unbounded satisfac- 
tion. Messengers and committees from every portion of 
the State hastened to the capital, demanding that, as they 
were ready to perform their share of the work of saving the 
Government, that they should not be drafted so long as 
they were willing to volunteer. This condition of things 
was promptly communicated to the War Department, and 
the assignment of our quota under both calls urgently re- 
quested. The next day it was announced that our quota 
under each call would be 26,148, but as Illinois had fur- 
nished 16,987 men in excess of her quota of those in the 
field, the total number required under both calls was 35,320. 
. . . On the 9th August, from returns made to this Depart- 
ment, I informed the public that there would not be a 
draft : this was upon the strength of the despatch from 
Washington that our quota was 35,320. . . . On the even- 
ing of that day, however, the assistant-general announced 
that it had been decided in fixing the quota not to regard 
those in the field before the call, leaving our quota at 
52,296. . . . To raise the increased number (16,976) of vol- 
unteers, but thirteen days were allowed. The floating pop- 
ulation of the State who would enlist had already done so. 
These new volunteers must come, if come at all, from the 



148 



FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 



farmers and mechanics of the State. It is no exaggeration 
to say that, inspired by a holy zeal, animated by a common 
purpose, and firmly resolved on rescuing this Government 
from the verge of ruin and restoring it to the condition in 
which our fathers left it, over 50,000 of them left their har- 
vest ungathered, their tools on their benches, their ploughs 
in the furrows, and turned their backs upon home and loved 
ones ; and before eleven days had expired, the demands of 
the country were met and both quotas were filled ! Proud 
indeed was the day to all Illinoisans when the extraordinary 
announcement was made that the enlistment rolls were full. 
And Avhen the historian shall write the record of those 
eventful days of August, 1862, no prouder monument can 
be erected to the honor and memory of a free people than 
a plain, full narrative of the actual facts ! ' " 

" There," burst in the Sergeant, " what do you say to 
tJiat ! Ain't that bully ? " 

" Why, the fact is," quietly drawled Corporal Prim, " 1 
enlisted under that call myself." 

The reading of the Adjutant-General's report seemed to 
stir the usually placid pulse of the Corporal, and as his com- 
panions pulled at their pipes and gazed at him in mute 
agreement that he had the floor, the veteran leaned back in 
his chair and went on: "Yes, I enlisted in the 119th Illi- 
nois Infantry in 1862, but we weren't mustered into the 
United States service until October oi that year. Our first 
duty was guarding- the Mobile and Ohio Railroad for more 
than a hundred miles, and we came mighty near being gob- 
bled up by the rebel generals. Van Dorn and Forrest, near 
Holly Springs; but while they were capturing one of our 



CAPTAIN McCONNELL. I^O 

companies, five miles away, our little detachment jumped 
on a train and ' changed station ' in a hurry. In February, 
1864, we joined General Sherman at Vicksburg, and the next 
month were sent under Gen, A. J. Smith to join Banks' 
Red River expedition. My company, ' H,' was com- 
manded by a gallant oi^cer, Captain SAMUEL McCONNELL. 

A MEDALLIST OF THE iigTH ILLINOIS. 

" The troops from the Army of the Tennessee were rear- 
guard of Banks' army to the mouth of the Mississippi River, 
and also guarding Commodore Porter's ironclad fleet — in- 
fantry guarding ironclads the same as a train of wagons — 
the fleet being covered with cotton. On our trip up Red 
River we landed at Simsport, Louisiana, and on the 14th of 
March, 1864, we started on the march to attack Fort De 
Russy, which we captured after 28 miles, before sundown. 
Captain McConnell captured the field-glass of the command- 
ing officer, as he said, to show that he ' was in with the first ' ; 
it was on the platform of the pivot-gun. Our next battle 
was at Pleasant Hill, La., April 9, 1864, where we drove 
Dick Taylor from the field. Our regiment captured the 
■flag of the 1 2th Texas Infantry; on the flag was embroi- 
dered in silk, * Presented to the 12th Texas Infantry by the 
ladies of Galveston.' Our next fight was at Bayou La 
Moore, La., May 7, 1864. We were sent in some heavy 
timber on the left of the line of battle, as there was heavy 
skirmishing in that direction. We took our position about 
four hundred yards in the timber, and about one mile from 
the line of battle. The regiment took position in a low de- 
pression and was ordered to He down. There was no enemy 



I50 



FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 



in sight, but the musket-balls striking the trees around us 
and cutting off boughs over our heads, with an occasional 
solid shot from a one-pounder the Rebs had. We had not 
to wait long. The 5th Texas Infantry came on the double- 
quick, with the Texas fierce yell, to turn our left flank and 
get between us and our line of battle. The heavy timber 
and underbrush concealed us as we lay on the ground in the 
depression, and instead of gaining our rear by passing our 
left flank they came square in on our front. When they 
got within about thirty paces of us we fired a volley into 
them, and then charged on the double-quick with the bayo- 
net. In less time than it takes to tell it there was not a 
Texan to be seen, except the dead and \\ounded. The 
regiment then fell back to the same depression. In the 
mean time, the 89th Indiana Infantry was ordered \.o our 
assistance. They were passing along in our rear, on the 
double-quick, by the right flank, when the 5th, 6th and 7th 
Texas Infantry made another dash to gain our rear. This 
time they made the attempt to get round the rigJit flank. 
The right flank of the 89th Indiana had passed our right 
flank about fifty paces, when the Texans opened fire on 
them at short range ; but the Hoosiers kept on the trot 
until they cleared our regiment, when they came to a front. 
Both regiments charged with the bayonet, when the enemy 
again ran. Each Reb seemed to be an arsenal on legs; be- 
sides his musket, each man had two navy revolvers and a 
heavy knife, about twenty inches long, with eight feet of 
cord, one end attached to the handle of the knife and the 
other end tied around the wrist ; the prisoners we took ex- 
plained that the knife was to be used by throwing it into a 



STRIPPING FOR THE FIGHT. 



151 



Yankee, and the string was to pull it back for another 
throw. 

" On the 7th of February, 1865, we were sent to New 
Orleans, and camped on General Jackson's old battle 
ground, six miles below the city. We were moved from 
there in a short time to Dauphine Island, at the mouth of 
Mobile Bay. From there we went up the bay and marched 
across to Spanish Fort ; there our brigade guarded the 
flank of the forces that were operating against Spanish 
Fort to keep re-enforcements from coming by way of Fort 
Blakely, opposite the city of Mobile.* After the forces 
had completely invested Fort Spanish, our division was 
sent up to take part in the siege of Fort Blakely, which 
commenced on the 3d of April and ended on the 9th of 
April, 1865." 

Here the Corporal was interrupted by, " Blakely? — Why, 
I was there, too," from the Sergeant, and " We helped you 
take it," from Strong. " Is that so? " replied Prim. " Per- 
haps I'd better stop ; 'twont be much news to you fellows." 

" Go on ! go on ! " urged the others, and the veteran went 
on with his story. 

" On April 9th, about four o'clock in the afternoon, an 
order came from brigade headquarters that our company 
was detailed to lead the charge on Fort Blakely. Soon we 
had orders to form the company, and see that each man had 



* Canby appeared before Mobile on the 27th of March. The city of Mobile was pro- 
tected by two forts, besides other intrenchments — Spanish Fort, on the east side of the 
bay, and Fort Blakely, north of the city. These forts were invested. On the night of the 
8th of April the national troops, having carried the enemy's works at one point, Spanish 
Fort was evacuated ; and on the gth, the very day of Lee's surrender, Blakely was carried 
by assault, with a considerable loss to us. On the nth the city was evacuated. 



152 



FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 



his arms in good condition, with full forty rounds of ammu- 
nition. 

" The men took their places in silence, and answered to 
their names as though they felt it would be the last time 
they would stand in line for roll-call on this earth. I felt 
the tears in my eyes as I saw the boys stripping off every- 
thing that would be an incumbrance, and tightening the 
waist-belt and making every preparation for a desperate 
rush. We took our position in the rifle-pits in front of our 
brigade ; the charging columns of infantry were in line 
close in rear of us. Near where I was standing the two 
color-bearers of the 2 1st Missouri, counciling together in 
regard to throwing their deck of cards away. One was say- 
ing«that they had gone through the battles of Fort Henry 
Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Tupelo and Nashville, and 
had thrown away their decks of cards at all of those places 
and had come out all right ; and that, as cards were hard to 
get, he thought they would take the risk of going in 
the fight with them. The other thought they ought to 
throw them away ; but as the first man was not willing, he 
would not carry them and he gave them to his comrade. 
They were large, strong men. When the bugle sounded, 
they left their regiment and overtook Captain McConnell, 
about forty paces from the fort, where they were both shot 
dead, one falling against the captain. I heard distinctly 
the balls pass through their bodies. 

" When Colonel T. J. Kinney of our regiment was 

giving the final instructions, Tom, O (known as 'Big 

Ugly') said: 'Colonel, I think we had better not go in 
the fort, for it will only raise a fuss ! ' 



OVER THE WORKS. 



153 



*' The color-bearers of the three regiments of our brig- 
ade seemed to think it was a foot-race, as all three left 
their regiments and started on a dead run for the rebel 
works. Our color-bearer, a bow-legged Dutchman, came 
over the works two hundred yards ahead of his regiment. 
He did not stop to plant the colors on the works, but went 
straight on. He is running yet for all I know. We made 
our way through the abatis, which covered the ground 
in front of the works for two hundred yards. The 
abatis, you know, was made by a thick growth of small 
pine trees that were felled, the tops out ; the limbs 
trimmed and cut off at the proper distance and sharpened, 
which made our progress very difficult. When we got 
through, we found a wire stretched along the front of the 
ditch and about twenty feet from it. When I got to the 
ditch I looked around to see if the company was close at 
hand. I found only the Captain near; he was just in front ; 
the rest of the company was some distance back, making 
the best progress they could. There was no time to waste. 
Captain McConnell said, ' Come along, Prim.' We started 
for the works, got over the ditch, and were near the top of 
the breastworks when the rebels ran out a gun through the 
embrasure and fired. In the smoke and confusion we had 
not noticed the embrasure, and we were close to the muzzle 
of the gun when it was fired. We were blown back in the 
ditch. We were on our feet in a moment, and went over 
the works among the guns and gunners ; I with my musket 
cocked and bayonet fixed, the captain with revolver in hand, 
ready for instant use. The gunners held up t^eir white 
hats in token of surrender. I suppose they thought that 



154 



FIGHTIXG THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 



only two men would not come over the works unless they 
had backing close at hand. I told them to get down close 
to the breastwork, where they would be out of danger ; 
they did so, 

■ " Captain McConnell and I went to the rear of the works 
and turned to the left, towards the bay, and opened fire 
with musket and revoh^er on a squad of Rebs that was try- 
ing to get to a small gun-boat that was at the landing on 
the right of their works. They fired one volley at us and 
turned to the right. We kept on our course tijl we came 
near their right, on the bluff near the bay, when a captain 
faced his company to the rear and they came to a ' ready ' on 
us. I thought my time had come, for it did not seem pos- 
sible that they could miss us at that distance ; but at that 
instant some of our men came over the works and saved 
our bacon. The rebel company surrendered to Captain 
McConnell, and he took the rebel flag that was on the 
works. The gun-boat was still at the landing. It was 
lying broadside to land, and the gang-plank was still out and 
the boat was crowded with rebels that had taken refuge on 
board. We concluded to take the boat in and got within 
about one hundred yards of it when we halted, and the 
captain came to the conclusion that it would be risking 
more than we cared about ; although the boat had a white 
flag hoisted, we were afraid it was a trick to catch some 
Yanks. We fell back in good order and the boat steamed 
over to Mobile. i did not get a scratch, but Captain 
McConnell was hit by a piece of shell on his left knee and 
his clothes were riddled by Minie balls. 

" Our brigade was paraded July 12, 1865, on Government 



THE COLORED TROOPS. jee 

Street, opposite the headquarters of General Kilby Smith, 
and the Medal of Honor was presented to Captain McCon- 
nell by Lieut. Colonel Lyons, Assistant Adjutant-General, 
i6th Army Corps. He made a splendid presentation 
speech. The captain seemed to think it a more trying or- 
deal than the capturing of a rebel flag, and his company 
took as much pride in it as he did." 

After a few minutes' pause Private Strong asked : 

" What regiment was yours, Sergeant ? " 

" The I22d Illinois. At the siege of Blakely we were on 
the left of Corporal Prim's regiment." 

" And my regiment, the 97th, was on your right, Corpo- 
ral." 

" It looks as if we had General Canby's entire force repre- 
sented here," chimed in Peter Williams. 

" Don't forget the colored troops ; they were on the ex- 
treme right, next the 97th, you know," remarked the Cor- 
poral. 

" Yes," said Strong, " they did well when they came to 
close quarters." 

"You sec," continued Strong, " I was Colonel Vifquain's 
standing orderly, and had an opportunity of seeing and 
hearing a good deal about the operations in front of 
Blakely. 

COLONEL VIFQUAIN AT BLAKELY. 

"The 9th of April, 1865, was an eventful day around 
there. Since the 2d of the month the trenches had been 
pushed forward with great energy. Colonel Vifquain had 
charge of the works in front of the Second Division, 13th 



ic6 FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 

Army Corps. The division was under the command of 
C. C. Andrews, the corps under Maj.-Gen. Steele. On 
the right of Andrews' Division was Hawkins' colored Di- 
vision, and the works in front of this division had not been 
pushed with the same vigor as those in front of Andrews', 
so that on the 9th of April, in the morning, several rifle 
shots had been sent through the third parallel which Vif- 
quain was then completing. Not having lost one man as 
yet, while at work, and not desirous to lose any unless it 
was unavoidable, the Colonel reported the fact to General 
Andrews, about twelve o'clock noon, and requested that 
the colored division be instructed to occupy the ground on 
his right and in their front, so as to push back the rebel 
line of pickets and skirmishers. He also reported the facts 
to General Steele, who ordered the colored division to ad- 
vance sufficiently to answer the requirements. 

" The rebel line of pickets was unusually strong that day, 
and the works of the Second Division were not over fifty 
yards from the little V redoubts occupied by the rebel 
pickets. So close were they, indeed, that the night pre- 
vious, a beautiful moonlight night, several rebel bullets 
struck the spades of our working force. The spades were 
bright, and the moon, shining on them, made, so to speak, 
looking-glass targets for the rebels as the earth was flung 
over the parapet. 

" At four o'clock P.M. the colored division started on its 
advance and were soon greeted by a terrible cross-fire of 
artillery, which, added to the numerous torpedoes with 
which the ground was covered, made the task a telling one. 
The officers of the negro division behaved with unusual 



COLONEL VIFQUAIN. 157 

gallantry, but their men had laid down and could not be 
made to rise up again under the destructive fiie from their 
front, and the secret fire that sprang up now and then from 
under their feet as the torpedoes were trodden upon. 

" Generals Canby, Steele and Andrews were on the ex- 
treme right of our rifle-pits and could see everything very 
well. General Canby, who commanded the Military Divis- 
ion of the Gulf, turned round and inquired, 'What can we 
do to relieve them ? ' Colonel Vifquain said that if we were 
to charge, the rebel fire would be turned upon us, thus 
relieving, to some extent, the colored division. He con- 
sulted with Generals Steele and Andrews, and very soon 
afterwards General Andrews ordered him to prepare to 
lead the charge. The regiment was put in line of battle in 
the third parallel, the 76th Illinois being behind our 
right, and the 24th Indiana Volunteers behind the left of 
the 97th Illinois. These two regiments were crowded in 
the zig-zags and second and first parallels, and were to fol- 
low our regiment after we had reached the foot of the hills 
on which the forts of Blakely were. The Colonel had given 
special instructions to every one of the captains as to what 
point they were to go for. By this time it was almost five 
o'clock. General Canby had remained in the w^orks and 
was in the zig-zag that led almost to the very centre of our 
regiment. The last words he told Colonel Vifquain were : 
' Colonel, stop at the foot of the hill if the fire is too mur- 
derous.' Vifquain answered, ' General, there is no stopping- 
place for us except in Blakely.' He had studied the 
ground for several days, and knew that any charge or 
assault from the place where we were must be made to a 



158 



FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 



finish. He had the most impHcit confidence in his men, 
knowing what they had done at Vicksburg. General Canby 
then said : ' Well, go ; and good fortune attend you.' Vif- 
quain asked him what time it was ; General Canby replied 
it was five o'clock and five minutes. The Colonel told him 
that within a quarter of an hour our flag would be on the 
rebel works. 

"At the appointed time, I saw the Colonel jump on the 
shoulder of the parapet ; the rebels could see him from his 
knees up. He quietly drew his sword and allowed the 
rebels to empty their rifles at him, and then gave the word. 
Before the enemy could reload their guns we were upon 
them ; rolling down the hill like an avalanche and up the 
other side with great force. Our commander made for the 
battle-flag on the rebel works, with the color company 
right upon his heels ; and while he cut the halliard of the 
rebel flag with his sword, and in the act of pulling it down, 
our color-bearer planted our flag ; for a second or two Vif- 
quain was hidden by the folds of our victorious banner 
mingling with those of the rebel standard. Our color- 
bearer was killed on the spot. The bayonet finished the 
work, and Blakely was ours with 5000 prisoners and 85 
pieces of heavy artillery. 

"The same night our regiment slept in the fort where 
the rebel battle-flag stood in the morning, and General 
Canby sent Cojonel Vifquain a no.te in pencil, which read as 
follows : . 

" ^ Dear Colonel: 
" ' Thank you, and may God bless you and your brave boys. 

"'E. R. S. Canry, 

" ' Mj.-Geitl. Comdg^ 



TIVO HEROES. 



159 



" The orderly that brought the note was killed on his 
way back by a torpedo. Upon General Canby's recom- 
mendation Colonel Vifquain was breveted Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, and received the Medal of Honor. 

"ONE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH." 

"Captain P. H. Pentzer,* of my company, *C,' 97th 
Illinois Infantry, also won the medal. He was command- 
ing the extreme right of our skirmish line, and finding him- 
self inside the rebel works in the charge, would have been 
captured had it not been for the colored troops, who at- 
tacked the enemy with great fury, using the butts of their 
muskets. About this time the captain noticed a rebel 
soldier waving a white flag. Approaching, the man shouted 
that the general wanted to surrender. Captain Pentzer 

was then conducted to the headquarters of General C , 

who in person surrendered himself and headquarters' flag. 
Captain Pentzer remained in charge of his distinguished 
prisoner for several days." 

private CALLAHAN AT BLAKELY. 

" Well, boys, dunno that I can add anything to what's 
been said about the Blakely fight, but one of our boys got 
a Medal of Honor there, too," said the old Sergeant. 

"It was this way: My regiment, the I22d Illinois In- 
fantry, was on the extreme left of the Union forces sur- 
rounding Blakely, and between our position and the enemy 



* Captain P. H. Pentzer enlisted as a private in Co. H, 9th Illinois Volunteers (three- 
months men), April, 1861. Re-enlisted for three years July 15, 1862, as sergeant-major 97th 
111. Vol. Infantry; captain, Feb, 14, 1863. Served at Vicksburg and Department of the 
Gulf. Mustered out July, 1865. 



l6o FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 

there was a swamp, in addition to the abatis and torpedoes 
you all have been describing. Blakely, you will recollect, 
is on high ground, about eighty rods from the swamp. 
Going on the skirmish line about sundown, I and Private J. 
J. Callahan (the man who got the medal), met two of the 
rebels between the hostile skirmish lines and had a friendly 
talk for about half an hour. The rest of that night we 
stood on our feet with a sharp lookout to see if the rebels 
were going to make any move. Being relieved about sun- 
rise on the gth, we returned to the reserve, and tried to get 
a little sleep. At noon we were notified that the fort 
would be assaulted at five o'clock P.M. We advanced into 
the swamp, apparently unnoticed by the rebels, but as we 
raised out of the swamp it seemed as though the infernal 
regions had opened in all fury. But every man did his 
duty; we carried everything before us. We captured the 
Confederate general, Liddell, and many others. General 
Liddell had a demijohn of ' old peach ' at his head- 
quarters, of which Callahan and I had a taste. Our regi- 
ment also captured a battery. As we wheeled to the left, 
on the inside of the works, Callahan and I saw the rebel 
flag defiantly floating; then he said to me, * That flag must 
come down.' Without orders we made a dash for it. Calla- 
han reached the spot first, and seizing the colors, demanded 
a surrender. The color-bearer, seeing there was no way to 
escape, reluctantly gave up the flag. At this time a bat- 
tery of two guns, .just to the right, was still firing at us. 
Captain Bostwick of our company said : ' Boys, we want 
those guns,' and with a cheer we charged, capturing the bat- 
tery and all of the men belonging to it. Captain Bostwick 



GENERAL SCOTT'S AUTOGRAPH. j(5, 

told Callahan to get on one of the guns and stay there, and 
he did so until the guns were turned over to the proper 
officer. From Blakely we were ordered to Montgomery, 
where we received word that Lee had surrendered, and that 
Peace was made. Every man was almost wild with joy ; 
but it is impossible to describe the shock that the Army 
received at the news of the assassination' of "Lincoln, our 
beloved President." 







II 



142 



HORSE, FOOT AXD DRAGOONS. 



ran a great risk of getting shot when you went for the flag, 
it seems to me that the Southern color-guard gave up the 
flag pretty easily to one man." 

" Ah, my boy, those were gallant men. They had fought 
us during four long, weary, years ; but when they saw our 
forces closing around them on that day, they realized that 
the end had come, and then resistance died out with the 
last volley from their carbines. Just how they felt is de- 
scribed by an eloquent Southern soldier, who, writing of this 
very occasion, says : 

'" Soon we hear the notes of a cavalry bugle. How mer- 
rily it sings ! how defiant its tones! how martial the strains 
as the gentle south wind brings its cadence to our ears ! It 
is no stranger to us, for its strains Ave have heard before, 
and we know their meaning. It is Custer's trumpeter, rally- 
ing his dashing squadrons to the headlong charge. We fall 
back to the foot of the hill to receive it. A Georgia brig- 
ade re-enforces us. On, on they come, as though on pleas- 
ure bent. The sharp clang of sabres is heard as they fly 
from the scabbards. A moment more they flash in the 
sunlight, magnificently. The enemy ascends the summit of 
the hill and dash on us. We pour in a deadly and appalling 
volley, and thirty brave fellows fall from their saddles. 
The conflict is short, sharp, and decisive, and the gallant 
Custer and his squadron fall back before overwhelming 
numbers as gayly and gallantly as they came. But the lines 
are closing around us, and the Confederacy is in its death 
throes. Four hours later and the bloody conflict of Sailor's 
Creek closes the last chapter in its melancholy history. 

'" Nearly all of Ewell's Corps are captured. Oh, the an- 



CUSTER AT SAIL OR 'S CREEK. 

guish of the hour! We saw, surrendered, eighteen battle- 
flags which bore upon their tattered folds the historic 
names of Manassas, Cold-Harbor, the Wilderness and 
Spottsylvania Court-House. Wait ! Every cloud has its 
silver lining. The next morning, after a refreshing slumber 
on the sweetest of all beds— the bare ground— we are again 
marshalled in line. 

Down that line came General Custer. By his yellow 
hair and boyish face he is known to all of us. Near the 
centre of the line he turns to his band and orders it to play 
"Dixie." As the marvellous strains of the Confederate 
war-song floated in liquid sweetness around us, we break 
into tumultuous cheering. General Custer waves his hat, 
and a thousand gallant soldiers in blue dash their caps in 
the air. 

Such was General Custer in the presence of a con- 
quered foe. Here might the artist have found his inspira- 
tion for " Custer's Last Rally," and the Southern poet who 
wrote : 

" ' The nations of the earth shall know 
That love, not hate, alone can glow 
In soldier-hearts by valor tried 
On many a field, and this our pride, 
When heroes of the Blue and Gray 
Shall each to each due homage pay, 
And scorn with all their martial souls 
The cowards base and venal ghouls 
Who shunned the conflict they had bred. 
And live but to malign the dead.' "* ' 



■ "A Confederate Soldier," in the Southern Bivouac. 



l5. WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

of Henry III. My mother was a May, and one of her 
ancestors was John May, Esq., who came to America in 
1640, from Mayfield, a town in the county of Sussex, Eng- 
land. 

At the time war was declared, and Fort Sumter fired 
upon, in the Spring of 1861, I had charge, for an uncle,* of 
a lumber yard at Oil City, Pa. Having been taught, from 
a boy up, that Slavery was wrong, President Lincoln's first 
call for 75,000 three-months volunteers naturally set me on 
fire, as it did almost every one throughout the Northern 
States. Oil City, at that time, was in the backwoods of 
Pennsylvania; before the days of railroads in that section. 
However, the people were intensely patriotic, and joined 
me in purchasing the materials for an immense flag, made 
by the ladies, hoisted to the top of a tall staff made of 
derrick poles, and unfurled to the breeze amid cheers from 
thousands of voices. 

That was a great day for Oil City, and the flag was a 
gentle reminder to all able-bodied men to fall into line and 
march off for the preservation of the Union. That flag 
did good service, and yet when the people of that region 
learn for the first time that the flag we all " rallied around " 
in 1 86 1 was as much like a rebel flag as any I ever saw, 
they will certainly be as much surprised as I was in making 
the discovery. However, such was the fact, and I have 
since enjoyed many a good laugh over it. 

The people were a little slow in Oil City, so I went to 
Franklin, seven miles distant, hoping to join a company 
there, but was too late. 

* Hamilton Stow, Esq., of Cincinnati. 



THE TRIALS OF A RECRUIT. jgr 

Then I made Pittsburg my objective point. Arrived 
there one day too late. Sign posted up at all recruiting 
stations, ''No more men zuanteei / " Saw the officers, how- 
ever, and plead with .them to "let me in," but all in vain. 
Besides, the daily papers announced to the public that the 
quota of 75,000 men under the President's call was full, 
and that twice as many more had offered than were wanted. 

Just then my eyes fell upon a recruiting advertisement 
in a Philadelphia newspaper. I opened a recruiting office 
in Pittsburg, and wrote, published and distributed several 
thousand copies of the most patriotic, "soul-stirring" 
handbills ever flung to the wind in that ancient and honor- 
able town ; and they did the work, for in less than thirty- 
six hours I was on the cars with twenty-seven men, tick- 
eted for Philadelphia. 

Arriving there, all the men breakfasted at my expense, 
and before I could report and turn them, with myself, over 
to our French colonel, Romaine Lujeane, all but eleven 
deserted ; and by evening on that day but three men 
remained. The colonel ordered me back to Pittsburg 
that night, to take advantage of my circulars: result, thirty 
more recruits. Took them to Philadelphia, where all but 
four deserted. 

Those patriots simply wanted free transportation, and 
they got it ; but the seven who remained with me were 
seven of the best boys.— honest, true, brave, soldier boys,— 
in the United States Army. The fact is, I was only a boy 
myself, just past eighteen, and weighed less than a hun- 
dred pounds ; but taken with the other seven (who were 



1 66 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

about my age and weight), I felt like a giant, because I 
could now call myself one or cigJit at pleasure. 

From that time forward, I stood before the country in 
the ratio of one to seven, or, as seven to one ; and it cost 
me in shining gold just $65.25 to reach those proportions, 
as per following detailed statement : 

When I first arrived in Pittsburg I had just $75.00 

2 days' board in that city, $3.00 



Incidentals 2 

5000 handbills 15 

Transportation for 28 men to Philadelphia (paid by Government) 00 

Loaned to a recruit (afterwards deserted) 25 

Breakfast for 28 men in Philadelphia 7 

Total cost of first invoice $52 

My return trip to Pittsburg cost : 

I day's board i 

Incidentals 2 

Transportation for 32 men (paid by Government) 00 

Breakfast in Philadelphia for 32 men 8 

Loaned recruit 

Total cost of second invoice §12 

Add cost of first invoice 52 



so 



75 12-75 

75 $9-7S 

50 



Aggregate expense $65.25 

and for that, we had eight recruits and $9.75 left. 

In round nuijibers each recruit cost just $8.15. 

The Colonel was several weeks in filling his regiment, 
so it was among the first ready for service after President 
Lincoln made his first call for three-years men. The 
Colonel offered to promote me to a lieutenant, but I bash- 
fully declined the honor, for I knew nothing about military 
tactics. Was mustered into the U. S. Volunteer Service, 
with my seven "good and true" recruits, July 26, 1861, 
we being the youngest, smallest, scrawniest-looking " high 
privates in the rear rank," of any in the 32d Regiment 
(afterwards re-numbered the 99th) Pennsylvania Volun- 



''JOHN BARLE YCOKNr j ^j 

teers. We were at first looked upon by everybody in the 
regiment, except the Colonel, as of no earthly value. 

The regiment was disciplined and sent to the. front, but 
it took some time to get there. While on the route, it 
garrisoned, for a few days, Fort Davis, one of the chain of 
forts surrounding Washington, and located about two 
miles from the south side of the Anacostia River, com- 
monly known as the Eastern Branch of the Potomac. 
While there I was promoted corporal, and a few days later 
it was my misfortune to fight my first battle with an enemy 
not on the programme. 

It was brought about in this way : A day or two pre- 
vious, a very estimable young man by the name of Griffith 
in my company, " C," was taken with a cramp and drowned 
while he and the other members of the company were out 
bathing in the river. Griffith ventured out too far, in very 
deep water. His body sank, and remained at the bottom 
of the river. 

A detachment of men from Company C was at once 
despatched to the Navy Yard, with orders to secure a gun- 
boat or a heavy piece of ordnance on a barge, as soon as 
possible, and proceed to the spot in the river where the 
soldier went down, firing the cannon over the body until 
it rose to the surface. It was a tedious undertaking, so 
the men were worked by reliefs, changing every two hours. 
I was one, and just after I had been relieved, about eleven 
o'clock, one of the darkest nights I ever saw, a sergeant in 

my company, by the name of G R , and myself 

started for the fort. There were two or three ways of 
going, but, as it was so very dark, we concluded to take 



1 68 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

the public highway. Sergeant R had been drinking 

just enough to make him boisterous when we started, but 
before we had travelled half a mile he became morose and 
ugly. We lost our way in the dark, at a place where sev- 
eral roads branched off. While slowly feeling our way in 
the dark, a horse and wagon came along, going in the same 
direction. The Sergeant wanted to ride, and made known 
his wants in the most vigorous manner possible. He yelled 
so loud that the horse and driver were alarmed, and in a 
moment were out of hearing. Then the Sergeant became 
very angry and laid down in the woods, declaring he would 
not move another inch. 

Supposing we were near our camp I travelled on, leaving 
him to follow at leisure. Within five minutes I heard a 
wagon, and saw a light in the road coming toward me at a 
rapid rate. It proved to be the same wagon that passed 
us, but this time it was crowded with soldiers, and each sol- 
dier had a loaded rifle, and *each rifle had a fixed baj^onet. 
In the next instant the wagon stopped, and the sergeant 
in charge called out, '* Who comes there?" I replied, 
" Friend with 'the countersign," and as I was advancing to 
give it, down came every rifle, with the muzzle pointing at 
me, and with the same movement, click, click, I 1 rd the 
double action of the locks, as they cocked their pieces. 

Could there be anything more dreadful than to be 
unwittingly placed in such a position on a lonely road in 
the w^oods, in the middle of the darkest night, unarmed 
and alone in a strange country? All the battles I after- 
ward saw% rolled into one, could not equal the terror of that 
supreme moment — just before they came to my relief, by 



'' A BRACE OF BRIGANDSr jgn 

dragging me into the vehicle with them. They turned 
the horse and wagon around, and drove off at break-neck 
speed, finally landing me in the guard-house of an unknown 
regiment. 

Well, it was another relief to get there, although their 
treatment of me had not improved, for they handcufTed, 
shackled and tied me down. While one party was doing 
that another had driven away for the Sergeant, who, when 
found, was treated in like fashion. We had the guard- 
house, a large wall tent, all to ourselves; but it was doubly 
guarded by extra men, detailed for that purpose. 

About daybreak, the following morning, I learned " con- 
fidentially" from the OfTficer of the Guard that the vehicle 
passing us on the road, and about which the Sergeant made 
such a row, was returning from Washington with the regi- 
mental mail. Frightened half out of his wits, in that 
lonely spot at the dead of night, by the sergeant's intem- 
perate yells, the young man drove into camp, rousing the 
whole regiment, exclaiming at the top of his voice that 
he had been attacked by two highwaymen. 

Sergeant R- ■ had commenced to sober up, and I shall 

never forget the look on his countenance when I told him 
we were '"brace of brigands," to be tried by "drum-head 
court-martial" at nine o'clock that morning, to be con- 
victed, sentenced, and shot at twelve o'clock, noon, of that 
day. He believed every word of it, and well he might 
after such an ordeal as we had gone through the night 
previous. I wanted him to believe it, up to the very last 
moment, for had he let liquor alone, and gone along about 
his business, he would not have dragged us into that 



lyQ in Til THE COLORS IJV I FAR TIME. 

scrape. The Officer of the Guard secretly furnished me 
with pencil, paper and envelope, that I might communicate 
with my regiment. I wrote a letter to my colonel, explain- 
ing the whole thing, and the Officer of the Guard sent it 
over to him. 

About nine o'clock that morning we were marched out in 
front of the strange regiment (a new one), lectured by its 
colonel, and then asked by him what we had to say for our- 
selves. I looked off to my right, about that time, and dis- 
covered my company (C) marching toward us, and then I 
respectfully told the Colonel " nothing we could say, after 
such treatment, would be of any avail, and we would leave 
it to our regiment to settle with him." Just then the officer 
in charge of our company handed the Colonel a letter, 
demanding our immediate and unconditional release. We 
were released, there and then ; and from that day forward, 
as long as those two regiments remained near each other, 
whenever our men caught any of the others outside their 
camp, I regret to say, terrible battles were fought on our 
account. 

Sergeant R was never seen under the influence of 

liquor after that. He was an honest man and a brave sol- 
dier, and was, near the end of the war, a lieutenant in that 
same Company C when I became its captain. Colonel 
Lujeane and my captain (William J. Uhler) declared I 
had fought my first battle and won a great victory. I 
thought so then, and I think so now. As the result, I was 
promoted to sergeant. Moral. — Never be caught in the 
company of a drunken man, under any circumstances what- 
ever, for you will have trouble when least expected. 



A FAMOUS BADGE. j^j 



" THE KEARNEY PATCH." 

From Fort Davis the regiment moved to Alexandria, Va.; 
from there to the Peninsula, under General McClellan, and 
afterward, with his army, we moved up near Manassas, 
under General Pope. It took part in General Pope's event- 
ful campaign of 1862, including Bull Run 2d and Chantilly ; 
the latter being the battle in which our brave General 
Kearney was killed. After the battle of Chantilly, the 
Army retired to the " Defences of Washington," General 
Birney succeeding to General Kearney's command. 

General Kearney, before his death, had issued an order 
requiring officers and men under his command to wear a 
badge or mark by which they would be always known. 
The badge was a piece of scarlet cloth, worn on the hat or 
cap, so as to be seen at all times. That was the first 
attempt to designate officers and men in our army by any 
distinctive mark. It proved to be a good thing, for then 
we could always tell whether our men lagged on the march 
or straggled in action. 

Soon after Kearney's death. General Birney issued an 
appropriate order, and in it spoke of the piece of cloth to 
be worn in memory of the dead general. The scarlet cloth 
referred to was soon cut in the form of a diamond, and 
this was known as the " Kearney Patch." After General 
Hooker took command of the Army of the Potomac in 
January, 1863, he wisely issued an order requiring the offi- 
cers and men of each corps to be known by some distinct- 
ive badge or mark ; the ist division of each corps wearing 
red, the 2d, white, and the 3d, blue. 



172 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



The following is a characteristic order issued by General 
Kearney to his soldiers : 

''■Brave Regiments of the Division : — You have won for us a high reputation; 
the country is satisfied ; your friends at home are proud of you. After the 
battles and victories purchased with much blood, you may be counted as vet- 
erans. I appeal then to your experience, to your personal observation, to your 
high intelligence, to put in practice on the battlefield the discipline you have 
acquired in camp. It will enable you to conquer with more certainty and less 
loss. 

" Shoulder-straps and Chevrons ! You are marked men ; you must be ever in 
the front. 

" Colonels and Field Officers ! When it comes to the bayonet, lead the charge ; 
at other times be among your men and supervise. Keep officers and men to 
their constituted commands ; stimulate the laggard ; brand the coward ; direct 
the brave ; prevent companies from ' huddling up.' 

" Marks in en ! Never in the fight cheapen your rifles. When you fire, 
make sure and hit. In wood or abatis one man in three is to fire, the others 
reserve their loads to repel an onset, or to head a rush. It is with short 
rushes, and this extra fire from time to time, such ground is gained. Each 
man up in first line ; none delaying ; share danger alike ; then the peril and 
loss will be small. 

''Men ! Yon Brave Soldiers in the Ranks ! whose worth and daring unknown, 
perhaps, to your superiors, but recognized by your comrades, influence more 
than others, I know that you exist. I have watched you in the fire. Your 
merit is sure to have its recompense ; vour comrades at the bivouac will repeat 
your deeds ; it will gladden your families, and in the end will be brought be- 
fore your country. 

" Color-bearers of Regiments I Bear them proudly in the fight ; erect and defi- 
antly in the first line. It will cast terror into your opponents to see them sus- 
tained and carried forward. Let them be the beacon-light of every regiment. 
The noblest inscription on your banners are the traces of the balls. 

" Again, Noble Division, I wish you success and more victories until, the 
cause of our sacred Union being triumphant, you return, honored, to your 
homes." 



" WHERE THE RED VOLLEYS POURED." 

KEARNEY AT SEVEN PINES* 
I. 

" So that soldierly legend is still on its journey, — 

That story of Kearney, who knew not to yield ! 
'Twas the day when with Jameson, fierce Berry and Birney, 

Against twenty thousand he rallied the field. 
Where the red volleys poured, where the clamor rose highest, 

Where the dead lay in clumps through the dwarf oak and pine, 
Where the aim from the thicket was surest and nighest, — 

No charge like Phil Kearney's along the whole line. 

II. 

" When the battle went ill, and the bravest were solemn. 

Near the dark Seven Pines, where we still held our ground, 
He rode down the length of the withering column, 

And his heart at our war-cry leaped up with a bound : 
He snuffed, like his charger, the wind of the powder, — 

His sword waved us on, and we answered the sign ; 
Loud our cheer as we rushed ; but his laugh rang the louder, 

' There's the devil's own fun, boys, along the whole line.' 

III. 

" How he strode his brown steed ! How we saw his blade brighten 
In the one hand still left — and the reins in his teeth ! 
He laughed like a boy when the holidays heighten, 

But a soldier's glance shot from his vision beneath. 
Up came the reserves to the melee infernal, 

Asking where to go in — through the clearing or pine .' 
' O, anywhere ! Forward ! 'Tis all the same, Colonel : 
You'll find lovely fighting along the whole line.' 

IV. 

" O, evil the black shroud of night at Chantilly, 

That hid him from sight of his brave men and tried ! 



^71 



* E. C. Stedman, in Scriiner^s Magazine. 



1^4 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

Foul, foul sped the bullet that clipped the white lily, 
The flower of our knighthood, the whole army's pride ! 

Yet we dream that he still, in that shadowy region, 

Where the dead form their ranks at the wan drummer's sign,— 

Rides on, as of old, down the length of his legion, 
And the word still is, ' Forward I ' along the whole line." 

OUR BATTLE-FLAG AT FREDERICKSBURG. 

It was a long step from Chantilly to Fredericksburg, but 
it was successfully made, overriding all sorts of obstacles, 
marching and counter-marching, fighting in a small way, 
called by some " skirmishing," and by others magnified into 
regular battles ; and battles they were to those who hap- 
pened to meet with a stray bullet while doing picket duty. 
Little does it matter to the poor soldier who has been shot 
to death while fighting where a hundred thousand were 
engaged, or where he was the only one out of a hundred 
thousand who fought and fell. That was his greatest bat- 
tle, and if we could compile the thousands of cases of that 
description in both armies, what a record it would make ! 
Then it is so much easier to speak of thousands having been 
killed in a certain battle, than to speak of only one in some 
other battle. 

Here we are at Fredericksburg, where one of the greatest 
battles of the War for the Union was fought, and although 
nearly twenty-four years since, it makes me shudder to look 
back at that dreadful field as I saw it December 13, 1862. 
Thousands upon-thousands fought their " last and greatest 
battle" there, and that my last was not fought then and 
there was certainly a miracle. And I will tell you why : I 
was color-bearer of my regiment, and the regiment was in 



FREDERICKSB UR G. 1 7 5 

the very thickest of the fight, doing treble duty. First, it 
was on the extreme right of our division, supporting about 
thirty pieces of cannon the enemy wanted to capture. 
Second, we were also held there in reserve to support Gen- 
eral Meade and his brave Pennsylvanians, who were away 
ahead in our front, in plain sight, grappling with the enemy. 
TJiij'd, our regiment opened ranks in the face of a victori- 
ous foe to let General Meade's decimated regiments pass to 
the rear, after they had exhausted their ammunition, and 
were compelled to retire in confusion. Then, closing our 
ranks, Ave made a dashing bayonet charge, driving back a 
Georgia brigade which tried to capture our artillery. 

It was a sight long to be remembered in its terrible 
grandeur ; and all happened quicker than I can write it. 
The brave Georgians wanted our artillery, which was pour- 
ing grape and canister into their ranks at a fearful rate, 
but in order to get it they had to mow down the 99th 
Pennsyh^ania. The Southerners came down upon us diag- 
onally, on the double-quick. Our soldiers reserved their 
fire until the enemy was within about three hundred feet, 
and then gave them a galling reception, making them halt, 
when they in turn commenced pouring a heavy shower of 
bullets into our ranks, from the right of the regiment up to 
its centre, at the flag. 

I had the colors, and when I looked down the ranks at 
my right and saw them melting away like ice under an 
August sun, and heard bullets humming about my ears like 
bees in a swarm, I concluded whatever was done must be 
done quickly; for if the enemy ever captured our artillery, 
or got in our rear among the ambulances, baggage -wagons, 



1/6 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



and ponton bridges, the result might be serious; so I 
instantly started toward the Georgians on a run, with the 
flag, and beckoned our men to follow. They were found 
equal to the occasion, and did follow with a cheer, on an 
extra double-quick. All in our regiment who were not 
killed or wounded by the terrible musketry fire, all of Gen- 
eral Meade's men who had recuperated from the panic, and 
all stragglers and " coffee-coolers," caught the inspiration, 
fell into line and helped drive the Georgians from the field 
at the point of the bayonet, capturing many prisoners. 
Both the flag and my clothes were riddled with bullets, but 
I did not receive a scratch. It was said the enemy made 
the same desperate attempt to break through our lines, 
along the entire front of our division, all at the same time 
and were everywhere repulsed, with great loss. However, 
subsequent events proved that the 99th received more 
than its share of the work on that day, because the object- 
ive point of the enemy was our artillery. 

The "■ regimental poet," Mr. George Flower, composed 
some verses about the battle, while we were lying on the 
ground in the front line nearest the enemy, during the next 
two days, and they will come in very appropriately now, 
years after that desperate struggle, showing its fierceness 
and naming some of the actors. 

SONG OF THE NINETY-NINTH PENNSYLVANIA. 

( Composed on the battlefield. ) 

At Fredericksburg, the 99th their battle-banner bore 
Two days and nights in foremost ranlv, despite the cannon's roar; 
The bursting shells, the whistling balls, the grape's destructive hail, 
To move that living wall are sent, but all are doomed to fail. 



SOA'G OF THE XIXETY-XIXTH 

I// 

They are hardy as the granite, and they've got a wondrous knack 
When face to face, to give the foe good cause to turn his back ; 
Swift and steady on the march, tirm and gallant in the fio-ht 
They drove the best brigade of Georgia clear, clean, out of sicrht. 

Our colonel, wounded, left the field, and many captains, too, 
When gallant Biles assumed command, none braver or more true- 
He cheered us on so heartily, himself so cool and steady 
That to follow in his glorious path all hands and hearts were ready. 

Upon that bloody battlefield for fourteen hours or more 
We stood, our comrades from their wounds their ebbing life-blood pour. 
The young and gallant Setley, as his bright sword waved on high, 
Cried, " On, boys ! for our country, let us bravely fight or die 1 " 

The colors of our glorious State, that Curtin gave in trust, 
Were borne aloft by Munsell, and will never kiss the dust; 
While his heart with life is beating he will nobly lead the way, 
With our banner proudly waving, as it did upon that day. 

******** 

Three cheers for Ward with hearty zeal, three cheers for Birney too. 
Who praised us on the battlefield, the enemy in view, 
A sigh and tear is all we can, as sorrow's tribute, pay 
To dear departed Kearney, ever foremost in the fray. 

* * * * * * *-* 

Chorus: Come along! push along ! By our bay'nets' sparkling gleam 
We'll prove the rebel power but a false and idle dream. 

General Lee, in his report of the battle of Fredericks- 
burg, says that at no part of his line were his men driven 
from the ground they had captured from our troops except 
at the point where Birney's Division drove back Early's 
Division of Ewell's Corps. As the 99th Pa. was in and on 
the extreme right of Birney's Division, it held the post of 
honor, and had the honor of clearing the enemy from that 
part of the field, as already stated by me. 



178 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



MEMORIES OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 



The next great battle was fought at Chancellorsville> 
Va., on Saturday and Sunday, May 2d and 3d, 1863, and 
it was the only battle during the war, in which I took part, 
where the carnage on both sides was so great, and the 
blood flowed so freely down the hard-trodden, sloping sides 
of a ravine, that a little brook, dividing the Union and Con- 
federate forces at the point where our division was engaged, 
actually ran red ivith blood I 

"At midnight of Saturday, May 2, General Birney re- 
ceived an order from General Sickles to make the necessary 
•dispositions to drive the enemy from the woods in his 
front, and retake the plank-road and earthworks near it. 
Ward's Brigade (in which was the 99th Pa. Vols.) was 
placed in advance. Slowly and cautiously the men moved 
along this road at midnight. No officer uttered words of 
encouragement ; no drum beat ; no colors waved ; no cheer 
rose from the ranks. The pale light of the moon, beam- 
ing at intervals from between the clouds, increased the 
effect of the scene, and photographed it upon the memories 
of those who beheld it, in characters never to be forgotten. 
Add to this the flash of the guns from the batteries sta. 
tioned in the rear of the line, which in the early part of the 
evening concentrated their fire upon a point on the plank- 
road, to deceive the enemy as to the real character of the 
movement. As the batteries belched forth their flames 
and lighted up the landscape with a death-like hue, which 
the flash of powder at night always imparts to surround- 
ing objects, the scene was grand beyond description. At 



CHANCELLORSVILLE MEMORIES. j^g 

a given signal, the fire of the batteries ceased, the men 
rushed forward upon the intrenchments, and their object 
was accompHshed. The enemy abandoned the position 
without a struggle, and soldiers and officers rested upon 
their arms until daylight," * 

General Jackson was in command of the line in Birney's 
front on Saturday night, May 2, 1863, and he was un- 
doubtedly wounded in front of Ward's Brigade in the great 
midnight charge already described. 

When General Lee first heard that Jackson had been 
wounded, he exclaimed : " Thank God, it is no worse ' 
God be praised that he is still alive ! Any victory is a dear 
one that deprives us of the services of Jackson for a short 
time ! " 

About 5 o'clock Sunday morning, May 3, 1863, the rebels 
in turn attacked our division, and then commenced the 
terrible destruction on the hill-side and in the ravine al- 
ready mentioned by me. One correspondent wrote up the 
awful reality as follows, and when speaking of the enemy, 
said : " It seemed as if they were a dense mob, those in the 
rear being ignorant of the carnage going on in front, and 
crowded their companions on to sure destruction. They 
appeared in front of our lines for at least a mile, along the 
front of the entire Third and Second Corps, coming up in 
dense masses, climbing over the heaps of the fallen, firing 
heavy volleys, and going down among the slain as the 
response broke from our ranks. It was frightful to con- 
template, the slaughter to which these men were forced. 

* New York Hi-rahi. May 7, 1863. 



jgQ IVITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

Whole brigades were swept away in the determined effort 
to force our lines, and still other brigades sprang up to take 
their places." 

And so the battle continued, from five o'clock that beau- 
tiful Sunday morning until after eleven on that day. If 




there was ever a place on earth that could be consistently 
called a human slaughter-pen, that ravine and the sloping 
land on either side of it was the place. Nothing that I 
ever saw before or since could equal it. Within a radius 
of a mile or so, more than twenty thousand men were killed 
or wounded on that fatal Sunday morning. 



THE DIVISIOiV DECORA TION. j g i 



THE KEARNEY CROSS. 

Soon after the great battle of Chancellorsville, on May 
27, 1863, General Birney presented a few of his soldiers 
with the Cross of Honor, called " The Kearney Cross," 
as follows : 

********* 
"The Brigadier-General Commanding Division announces the following 
names of meritorious and distinguished non-commissioned officers and pri- 
vates, selected for their gallantry, as recipients of the ' Kearney Cross,' the 
division decoration. 

" Many deserving soldiers may have escaped the notice of their commanding 
officers, but in the selection after the next battle they will doubtless receive 
this honorable distinction. 

" This cross is in honor of our old leader, and the wearers of it will always 
remember his high standard of a true and brave soldier, and will never dis. 
grace it. 

********* 
" Sergeant Harvey M. Munsell, Company C, 99th Penn. Volunteers. 

********* 
" An official copy of this order will be given to each soldier entitled to wear 
the cross. D. B. Birney, 

" Brig.-Gen. Vols., Coinmanding Division^ 

The following order was also issued : 

" Headquarters, First Division, Third Corps, 
" General Orders, 51. May 26, 1863. 

" The division will be paraded to-morrow for the presentation of the medals 
at three o'clock p.m. A staff officer from each brigade will report at these 
headquarters at half-past tw^o o'clock p.m., for instructions as to the ground. 
Every available man will be turned out, and particular attention will be paid 
to dress and accoutrements of the troops. The brigade band of First Brigade 
will be present, and report at two o'clock to Captain Briscoe, Acting-Assistant 
Adjutant-General. The drum corps of brigades will be consolidated. 

" By command of Major-General Birney, etc., etc." 



l82 



WITH THE COLORS IN IVAR TIME. 



The occasion drew together a large assemblage of soldiers 
and civilians, in addition to the regular force of the divis- 
ion and the distinguished ofificers present by particular 
invitation. 

The First Division, to members of which, only, the medals 
were awarded, was drawn up in hollow square on a beauti- 
ful meadow in the valley of the Potomac Creek. The 
distinguished officers present occupied the centre of the 
square. 

When Major-General Sickles rode into the square, the 
whole assemblage of soldiers broke out in the wildest cheer- 
ing. An attempt was made at " three times three," but 
the response was more like nine times nine. It was a con- 
tinuous roar for several minutes. 

As soon as the party were all present, the several brigade 
commanders were directed to call the Roll of Honor of 
their several commands, and the parties designated in the 
above order stepped to the front. They were quickly 
formed in three ranks, by brigades, the representatives of 
each regiment carrying the regimental colors, and the 
brigade colors being placed in front of each rank. 

At the request of General Birney, General Sickles made 
the presentation address. He spoke as follows : 

" SOLDIERS :— Your general of division has confided to me the most pleas- 
ing of duties — the decoration of brave men with Medals of Honor. These med- 
als are the gift of your fellow countrymen ; they are such tokens of appreciation 
as a martial people should bring to the camp of their defenders. You have 
earned these proud emblems of constancy and valor — more precious than riches, 
more honorable than office ; — they are legacies for your kindred, which neither 
time nor change can impair. You are Volunteers, the noblest type of an army. 
You have offered your lives for the preservation of a Government — alone among 



THE SOLDIERS OF KEARNEY. 



183 



nations — of whicli it has been gracefully said that its blessings, like the dews" 
of heaven, descend alike upon all. Your power is in your bayonets. Bayo- 
nets have dethroned kings, created nations, opened avenues to civilization and 
religion. The sun which now gilds yours, never lighted holier paths than those 
you follow to battle. The steel which destroys the enemies of a good cause 
is consecrated. It is this, and because you know how to use your arms, which 
makes you invincible. On the day after the attack upon Fort Sumter, April 
13, 1S61, I had the honor to be accepted by my late lamented friend, Colonel? 
Vosburgh, as a volunteer in the ranks of the Seventy-first Regiment of New 
York Militia. Like yourselves, a citizen soldier, my military services began 
with the Rebellion ; and, if spared so long, will end when the rebels are put 
down. Peace, while the Rebellion breathes, is dishonor. Never since Caesar 
led his legions to conquest ; never since Rienzi, last of the tribunes, fell with 
the last fragments of the Roman Republic ; not in the armies of Napoleon, 
where Marshals rose from the ranks ; never in any army, has promotion so 
generally and so surely followed merit as in ours. The genius which chal- 
lenges victory, even from adverse fortune, will, sooner or later, find its place 
at the head of the column. Let your motto be ' EXCELSIOR '—the emula- 
tion of the brave for the commendation of the good. You are the Soldiers of 
Kearney — that electric commander, disdaining death, whose sword yielded at 
last only to the Supreme Conqueror. These medals bear his honored name, 
and his cherished image. When I add that Birney is his fit successor, and 
that you are worthy of both, I hope that nothing is left unsaid which the occa- 
sion demands. The medals will now be delivered to commanding officers of 
regiments, who will, decorate the men of their commands, named in the order."' 

THE NINETY-NINTH AT GETTYSBURG. 

Then came what was more important to our country in 
its results than the battle of Waterloo to Europe, viz., the 
great battles and final victory at Gettysburg, Pa., fought 
July 1st, 2d and 3d, 1863, just two months, to a day, after 
Chancellorsville. 

The movement of two giant armies of nearly a hundred 
thousand each, from Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville 
to Gettysburg, — such a long distance, in such a short time,. 



1 84 



WITH THE COLORS IK WAR TIME. 



— was looked upon by everybody as one of the most stu- 
pendous undertakings of the war. Officers and men in 
both armies had been schooled for that contest. h\\ vet- 
erans ; and all used to the familiar " zip " of the bullet as 
it passed them by. Long years of active service had hard- 
ened them against the sound of roaring cannon, screech- 
ing and ricochet shot, and bursting shells ; hardened and 
as tough as Bessemer steel ; and nothing but steel and cold 
lead could produce an impression upon a solitary man 
of that two hundred thousand thoughtful souls. There 
they were, face to face, in battle array. Stripped for the 
contest, armed to the teeth, waiting the signal to try and 
annihilate each other. Christians, in a civilized country, 
and every man of them battling for what he thought to be 
right. 

It was my good fortune to be one of that mighty host 
battling for the Right — as I understood it — that Slavery 
was wrong. I was but a unit, as compared to that great 
whole, but I felt strong. 

" Only a Color-bearer," — but that old, tattered, bullet-rid- 
dled regimental flag appeared to be nothing more than a 
pipe-stem in my hands on July 2, 1863, the day the great, 
seething, roaring whirlpool of the battle struck my grand 
old regiment a regular " broadsider." 

It came about in this way. The 3d Corps, General 
Sickles', occupied the extreme left of the Union line in the 
second day's battle. Ward's Brigade occupied the extreme 
left of the 3d Corps, and the 99th Pa. (my regiment) occu- 
pied the extreme left of Ward's Brigade, up near Big Round 
Top, in front of Little Round Top, at the Devil's Den. 



THE DEVIL'S DENr 



185 



Why it was that the 99th had the post of honor, as it were, 
again, in this Hne, I cannot tell ; but we were there, occu- 
pying by all odds one of the most important positions in 
either army. As a matter of fact, historians have since 
declared it was the "key to the situation." Twist it as 
they tried, the rebels always got a double twister that 
hirled them back instead. 




GETTYSBURG — " DEVIL's DEN." 

Describing it, an eye-witness said : 

" Silence, deep, awfully impressive, but momentary, was 
permitted, as if by magic, to dwell upon the field. Only 
the groans, unheard before, of the wounded and dying ; 
only a murmur — a morning memory — of the breeze through 
the foliage ; only the low rattle of preparation for what 
was to come, embroidered this blank stillness. Then, as 
the smoke beyond the village was lightly borne toward the 



J 86 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

eastward, the woods on the left were seen filled with dark- 
masses of infantry, three columns deep, who advanced at a 
quick step. Magnificent ! Such a charge, by such a force, 
— fully forty-five thousand men, under Hill and Longstreet, 
— even though it threatened to pierce and annihilate the 
3d Corps (the one the 99th was in), against which it was 
directed, drew forth cries of admiration from all who be- 
held it. 

" The rebels came on furiously, halting at intervals, pour- 
ing volleys that struck our troops down in scores." 

There, on " our left," stood the 99th, as firm as the rocks 
beneath their feet ; watching and waiting for the avalanche 
of maddened men bearing down upon them, — a cyclone of 
thirty thousand of Lee's bravest and best, sweeping toward 
us, with loaded guns in a bayonet charge. 

" Only a Color-bearer," but — Merciful Heavens ! I me- 
chanically prayed as I never prayed before nor since. My 
heart was in my mouth, or boots, and never to this day have 
I been able to tell which. My teeth, like those of " poor 
old Harry Gill, went chatter, chatter, chatter still ; " and 
chatter now when I think of it. Frightened almost to 
death, and not a soul in the regiment knew it but myself. 
If I could have been suddenly transplanted, or could have 
taken on the garb of an angel and heavenward flow^n, or 
gone up like Elijah, what happiness at that supreme mo- 
ment in which I was living two hundred thousand lives 
every second, as it" were, and when I would have sooner 
died two hundred thousand times than to continue in the 
terrible suspense when seconds seemed hours. 



HIS SATANIC MAJESTY'S ''DENP 187 

LOCKING OUT THE DEVIL. 

We were at the " Devil's Den," and the " Den " was locked, 
and the 99th, as I said before, held the " key." Only a hand- 
ful of men to arrest and keep at bay " His Satanic Majesty " 
and thirty thousand others, trying to get in. The members 
of the 99th, every man of them, looked like ghosts, and it 
was not until after I mad*e that discovery that I came to 
the conclusion they thought I was the only man in the reg- 
iment not frightened half out of his senses. Every second 
brought the advancing host nearer to us, and every second 
they remained in the distance counted thousands of men in 
our favor, for every one of us was quadrupling himself for 
the herculean struggle near at hand. The regiment ap- 
peared to be elastic, able to contract and expand to any 
length and breadth at will. 

1 had the flag unfurled to the breeze in the front as in 
former battles, and every man looked to me and the flag as 
a guide, and I knew it, but they did not know I did. 

They had the guns, the bayonets, the bullets, the pluck, 
the courage ; and we all felt safe in each other's hands. 
Not a solitary man of that little band, even for a mo- 
ment, thought of being driven from " tJic Key.'' 

We were the " Davids," and on came the " Goliaths " to 
their destruction. Our little " slings " did it. Column after 
column of the " flower," as Lee was pleased to call those of 
his army, was thrown against us, and for one hour and 
thirty-eight minutes we were kept busy hurling them back. 

It was solemnly said, by non-combatants and eye-wit- 
nesses, that " men fell as the leaves fall in Autumn, before 



i88 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



those horrible discharges." " Faltering for an instant, the 
rebel columns seemed about to recede before the tempest ; 
but their of^cers, who could be seen through the smoke of 
the conflict galloping and swinging their swords along the 
lines, rallied them anew, and the whole line sprang forward 
the next instant, as if to break through our own by mere 
weight of numbers." At many points along the 3d Corps 
line they did break through, but never for an instant at 
" the key " ; but the key was finally flanked and had to be 
abandoned, but not until a new line of fresh troops had 
formed at the hinges of the door. 

" Only a Color-bearer," with colors riddled, and eleven 
bullet-holes in my clothes ; but the worst was not yet, I 
had survived the whirlwind, had looked down the throats of 
thousands of fiery guns, discharged without harm to my 
person, and now that we were compelled to go away from 
the " Den," out of that Hades of fire, and save ourselves 
and the flag from capture, immediate action and some 
engineering was required. 

I had a color-guard of eight corporals, and every man 
was killed or wounded. The rebels were pouring into our 
rear in vast' numbers on both flanks. General Ward or- 
dered our regiment, or what was left of it, to fall back as 
quickly as possible. It got a good start, say about sixty 
feet, before I commenced to fall back, because I misunder- 
stood the order, and as several of our men were too badly 
wounded to leave the field, and yet able to load and fire at 
the enemy from where the}' fell, the thin line of rebels re- 
maining in our front, naturally thought our regiment was 
lying down waiting for another charge. I retreated with 



''ALL BLOIVX TO PIECESr 



1 89 



the flag a few hundred yards in good order, but shortly a 
shell came whizzing past, then another, and still another, 
bursting all around me. One struck the ground, tearing it 
up, and burst right at my feet. 

Stunned by the concussion, I tumbled into the depres- 
sion it made, and many of our men, who looked back and 
saw me fall, reported me dead. " Munsell all blown to atoms 
by a shell, and the flag captured." That both the flag and 
myself were not captured was no fault of mine, for there 
we were for a long time, '' playing possum," and I apparently 
dead as Julius Caesar. The staff laid along the surface of 
the ground in my front, under some rocks and bushes ; the 
flag under my body, with my head and shoulders down in 
the depression, and my feet and legs out, as a wounded or 
dead man would naturally lie, stretched at full length, dur- 
ing a battle ; for the fight was still raging on both flanks, 
and the rebels were working a battery which they had cap- 
tured at the " Den." 

I was surrounded by low rocks and bushes, as well as by 
the rebels, and I dared not move from that position untii the 
coast was clear to the rear; the only thing I feared was that 
a Johnnie might come along and try his bayonet on me to 
see if I was really dead. 

Just about that time the 6th Corps swept down toward 
and past me, driving every " Reb " before it. I jumped 
up and " skedaddled " to the rear, where my regiment had 
formed, quietly fell into line and unfurled the flag. Such a 
shouting I never heard before or since. Men who saw me 
fall, " all blown to pieces with a shell," and " the flag cap- 
tured," came and looked at the flag, and felt of me to see 



jQO WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

if there wasn't some mistake or humbug about it, for I was 
already booked as among the " slain in battle." I saw 
more, accomplished more, in those few hours than during 
my whole life before. 

I quote from a personal letter to me from General Daniel 
E. Sickles, dated New York, Aug. 17, 1886. 

" The 99th Penn. Vol. — that noble regiment that stood 
the brunt of battle for hours in the ' Devil's Den,' cover- 
ing Round Top, the key of the Union position, while Gen- 
eral Meade was sending troops to hold it." 

I also give an extract from the report of the commanding 
officer of my regiment and brigade.* 

" Camp in the Field (Near Warrenton, Va.), 
'^Jiily 27, 1S63. 
"Sir: — I have the honor to make the following report of the part my com- 
mand took in the actions before Gettysburg on the ist, 2d and 3d inst. 

************* 
" The courageous conduct of Color-Sergeaiit Harvey M. Munsell, and the 
manner with which he bore the regimental colors during the conflict, has in- 
duced me to make special mention of his case, as one worthy of the most de- 
cided approval. 

"(Signed) John \V. Moore, 

" Major Comcfg ggth Penn. Vols." 

" Hdqrs. 2d Brig., ist Div., 3d Corps, 
"August 4, 1863. 
" Captain : — I have the honor to transmit a report of the action and move- 
ments of my brigade on July ist, 2d, 3d and 4th : 

************* 
" It would afford me much gratification to speak of others in the terms they 

* From the advance sheets oi the U. S. Records—" War of the Rebellion," Vol. XV.. 1880. 



HEROES OF THE COLOR-GUARD. jqj 

deserve, but space will not permit. I would respectfully refer to the regimen- 
tal reports for a detailed statement of the particular deeds of many other gal- 
lant officers. I cannot omit, however, the names of a few gallant non-commis- 
sioned officers, viz. . . . Sergeant H. M. Munsell, 99th Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers, . . . who by their bravery and example inspired all in their vicinity. It 
is to be hoped that a suitable reward, by promotion and otherwise, will be 
awarded these splendid soldiers. 

" J. H. HoBART Ward, 

" Brigadier-General." 

It is proper to mention, right here, three incidents in con- 
nection with our color-guard at the " Den." 

HEROES OF THE COLOR-GUARD. 

George BrOADBENT, from Lancaster City, Pa. ; young 
(about 18), tall, slim, light weight, fair complexion, always 
kind and gentle, and nick-named on that account, " The 
Lady " ; had a mess-mate by the name of Charles Herb- 
STER, one of my good and true Pittsburg recruits, and 
both were color-corporals. Each had a " presentiment," a 
few hours before the battle, that he was going to be 
killed in the fight. They told everybody so, and made all 
their plans to die. I talked with them about the matter, 
and tried to ridicule the idea, but all to no purpose. My 
captain wanted to detail them on other duty till after the 
battle, but fight they would, and fight they did, and died 
as heroes there at the " Devil's Den." 

"The Lady" had fired away nearly all his ammunition at 
the enemy in our front, and had just asked me what we 
would do after our last cartridges were gone, when a bullet 
from the enemy struck him square in the temple, right be- 
fore my eyes, killing him instantly. He fell to the earth. 



192 



WITH THE COLORS TV IVAR TIME. 



the blood spurting out of the bullet-hole over his battle- 
begrimed face. 

Charles Herbster saw him fall, and was by his side in an 
instant, took out his handkerchief, wiped the blood from 
his dead comrade's face, kissed him, and said, " Poor Lad}- is 
dead ! " On his knees, behind the body, Herbster planted 
himself, and again commenced loading and firing at the 
enemy in close company with GEORGE Setley, another 
one of my color-guard, from Lancaster, Pa. 

When we were compelled to abandon our position and 
go to the rear, I tried to get Herbster and Setley to go with 
us, as they were the only two of the color-guard, out of 
eight, not killed or wounded. Nothing could move them. 

There they were, riveted to the ground, avenging the 
lives of their comrades, and there we left them. Setley 
was frothing at the mouth with excitement and anger, and 
Herbster taking it as cool as a cucumber. Both were the 
best shots in the regiment, and both had done great execu- 
tion. The next day we found Herbster's body lying on 
top, and square across "the Lady's," and both were com- 
pletely riddled with bullets. 

Setley had been wounded, was taken prisoner, and sub- 
sequently died in captivity. What a wreck I — annihilation 
we might say. Eight boys (they were nothing else) shot 
to death defending the Flag of their Country at a critical 
point, at a critical moment. 

Twenty-three years have passed since that terrible 
tragedy, and it is as fresh in my memory to-day as if but 
yesterday. Heroes they were, every inch of them, fighting, 
and dying martyrs in a good cause, as were all their com- 
rades who fought and died on that bloody field. 



MODERN MARTYRS. 



19: 



On the 2d day of last July, the 23d anniversary of 
the conflict, the surviving members of the 99th Pa. Vet. 
Vols, erected and dedicated a beautiful monument to the 
memory of all its fallen heroes, on the very spot at the 
Devil's Den where the little band of eight gave their lives 
that we might live as a Nation. 

That great leader in the noble army of martyrs, Abra- 
ham Lincoln, said, on the same spot, a few months after 
the battle : " We cannot consecrate nor hallow this ground. 
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have- 
consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The 
world will but little note, nor long remember what zve say 
here ; but it can never forget what they did here. It is for 
us, the living, rather to dedicate ourselves to the unfinished 
work which they so nobly advanced ; to consecrate our- 
selves to the great task remaining, and to gather from the 
graves of these honored dead increased devotion to that 
cause for which they gave their lives. 
Here let us resolve that they shall not 
have died in vain ; that this nation shall, 
under God, have a new birth of freedom , 
and that government of the people, by 
the people and for the people shall not 
perish forever from the earth." 

Out of respect to the sacred memory 
of the heroes who consecrated with their 
life's blood the spot, where our beautiful 
and enduring monument now stands, I take pleasure in 
furnishing a miniature reproduction here. 




jg. WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



MY "VETERAN FURLOUGH." 

From Pennsylvania we returned to Virginia, and during 
the Summer and Fall of 1863, the 99th was engaged in 
marching and fighting many small battles, such as Auburn, 
Kelly's Ford, Mine Run, Wapping Heights and Bartlett's 
Mills, in all of which I carried the flag, and. with my 
usual good luck, came out unharmed. January i, 1864, 
found the 99th at Brandy Station, Virginia, and during a 
tidal wave of patriotism that swept over our regiment 
about that time, nearly every man in it " re-enlisted for the 
war," unless sooner shot, of course. As I had been right 
along with the veterans, through everything up to that 
date, I wouldn't, couldn't, and didn't desert them. 

The^ entire regiment received thirty days' furlough, and 
returned home to Philadelphia in a body. I shall long 
remember the day our regiment parted company with the 
Army. The feeling was something like that possessed by a 
strong, affectionate man leaving his family for a long jour- 
ney. I thought, if the Army of the Potomac got into 
trouble with the enemy, during the absence of the 99th, it 
would have hard work to pull through Avithout our assist- 
ance ; and when our regiment moved off, homeward bound, 
I felt as if the whole left flank of the Army was going with 
us, actually deserting those poor fellows left behind, — 
nearly a hundred thousand strong. 

Soon after arriving in Philadelphia I had my photograph 
taken, and for the novelty of the thing, give a fac-simile of 
it right here. I was 21 years of age. to a day, when it was 
struck off. 



'A LITTLE ENTERTAIN MENTr 



195 



One afternoon a committee of officers from the 99th 
waited upon me, requesting the pleasure of my company 
at a little entertainment. I accepted, as a matter of course, 
without thinking much about it, for the officers had 
always been very kind. They wouldn't tell me a thing 
about it, except that it was a " little entertainment." I 
didn't know whether it was an evening party, a ball, or a 
regimental drill, but I went 
to work and arrayed myself 
in my best, and when re- 
flected in a Continental Ho- 
tel mirror I scarcely knew 
myself, the transformation 
was so great. Satisfied that 
I looked well enough to be 
presented, if necessary, to 
Her Majesty, the Queen, I 
hurried off to the " little en- 
tertainment." 

Arriving at the place, I was sadly disappointed at not 
finding any ladies there. No one but the officers of my 
regiment, and their friends. In order to remove my 
embarrassment, the Colonel, Asher S. Leidy, of Philadel- 
phia, brought forth from its hiding-place one of the hand- 
somest American flags (made of heavy silk, and of the 
regulation size) I had ever seen.* In a short and appro- 
priate speech, on behalf of himself and the other officers of 
the 99th Pa. Veteran Volunteers, he presented the flag to 




* See full-page engraving facing this chapter. 



196 WITH THE COLORS IM WAR TIME. 

me, to keep as my personal property. With tears in his 
eyes, and in the presence of all his commissioned associates, 
who were likewise in tears, he thanked me for himself, and 
for them, and said that as I had successfully carried the 
regimental standard through all the great battles in which 
the regiment had been engaged up to that date, and at the 
critical moment in each one I had never been found want- 
ing, they desired to acknowledge the fact in a fitting and 
substantial manner. "That flag," said the Colonel, "with 
the battles in golden letters on its stripes, and the engraved 
inscription on the silver plate attached to the staff, tells 
the whole story." 

The inscription reads as follows : 

Presented to 

Sergeant HARVEY M. MUNSELL, 

Color-Bearer ggth Reg't Pa. Vet. Vols., 

By the Officers, for 
Meritorious Conduct on the above Fields. 

When the Colonel had finished his remarks, I was found 
blubbering too. I had always been considered iron-clad, 
and bomb-proof, but when it came to being bombarded with 
tears in that fashion, I surrendered, thanked the officers- 
for the beautiful gift, and told them I had only done my 
duty as 1 understood it. If I had been the means of aid- 
ing, in the slightest degree, in maintaining the good reputa- 
tion of the Ninety-ninth, I was extremely happy, but it 
could only have been accomplished under certain condi- 
tions ; viz., by the aid of the officers and soldiers of that 
grand old regiment, who vigorously sustained me at all 
times, and more particularly at the critical moment in all 
the great battles in which we had been engaged. I was 



AA^O THER PKESENTn.IENT. 



197 



proud to say, not a solitary officer or nian had ever been 
found wanting in a fight with the enemy, — that we had 
stood by each other, in fighting our battles with the com- 
mon enemy; and because we were all of one mind, and 
stood by each other, shoulder to shoulder, we invariably 
won our battles. I again thanked them for their good 
opinion, and the honor bestowed upon me, and closed the 
" little entertainment " by banqueting every one present 
with lemonade and ice-cream. 

WHAT CAME OF A PRESENTIMENT, 

Soon after I re-enlisted for the Avar, a feeling came over 
me, a sort of presentiment, — as in the case of Broadbent 
and Herbster, — that the next battle in which I carried the 
flag, I should be killed. That ugly sensation hung over me 
all the time I was home on my veteran furlough. 

On the re-assembling of the regiment at a camp near 
Philadelphia, after its leave of absence had expired, I 
brought the matter before my captain, and he tried to get 
my furlough extended sixty days, but without avail. The 
commanding officer of that department said it could not 
be done, — that every able-bodied man was wanted and 
needed at the front. From Philadelphia, the regiment 
went to Washington on its way to the field. 

I still kept on wondering how I could honorably get rid 
of carrying the " old flag" in the next battle, and at last an 
idea struck me. x 

The Government wanted officers for colored troops, and 
as there was a free military school in Philadelphia for 



198 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



applicants for commissions, I thought I would now try 
the Secretary of War. 

One afternoon I took my Kearney medal, and the flag 
presented by the officers, and started to see the Secre- 
tary of War. When I arrived at the War Department it 
was late, and many were ahead of me, on various kinds of 
business. Mr. Stanton received and listened to each man 
in his turn. It was nearly dark when it came my turn 
to meet the War Minister. Just before Mr. Stanton was 
ready to leave for home, I introduced myself to him ; 
he appeared tired and worn out by the day's work, and 
spoke short, and treated me rudely. Wanted to know 
what I was doing there, away from my regiment at that 
time of day. I answered politely, and at the same time 
unfurled my flag, and showed him the battles on it, and 
the inscription on the silver plate. There was only a dim 
light in his office, and I remember how he went and hunted 
a match, lit up everything that could be lighted, and then 
called in some staff officers and others to look at the flag. 
It was simply a grand, impromptu reception. Scarcely a 
word had passed between us up to that moment, but he 
looked first at me, then at the flag, and then at his army of 
aides. 

Finally Mr. Stanton asked me what I wanted. I told 
him I was a coward, and wanted to get out of the next 
fight. That blunt answer to his question nearly threw 
him into convulsions of laughter, and at the same time he 
whipped out of his side pocket a little memorandum book, 
and asked if there were any more " cowards" like me in my 
regiment? I answered, "Yes, all alike." He took my 



SECKETAJ^V SrAXlVX'S ACTIOX. igg 

name off of the silver plate on the flag-staff, wrote it in his 
book, and then asked for two more. I gave him the names 
of Captain John W. Moore and Lieutenant A. \V. Bach- 
man, the latter a 2d lieutenant of my own company. At 
his request I gave him a short account of my service, and 
also told him about my " presentiment." 

Mr. Stanton was apparently pleased with my record, for 
he said, in the presence of everybody there, when shaking 
me by the hand, that I was the only stranger, either soldier 
or civilian, who had ever asked him for a favor, without be- 
ing loaded down with letters, and who had brought such 
a living testimonial of any service they had rendered the 
United States Government. Those were about his words. 
He kept right on in the same strain, as follows : " I'll dis- 
charge you ; I'll promote you to a commissioned officer in 
the Regular Army ; I'll do anything in my power for you, 
Sergeant Munsell." 

That was certainly the happiest moment of my life, and 
I'was almost willing to go back to my regiment, take the 
"Old Flag" into the next fight, and be shot. I told Mr. 
Stanton, when thanking him, I did not want to be dis- 
charged or promoted, or anything of the kind ; but sim- 
ply wanted a furlough to attend the " Free Military 
School," in Philadelphia. He sat down and filled one out 
for me, himself, leaving it undated. He then wrote a letter 
to my colonel, requesting him to date the leave of absence 
the day I left the regiment, leaving the time optional with 
me. I took said furlough and letter to the Colonel, and he 
became furious ; tore up both of them, and put me in the 
guard-house. Late that night the guard let me out, and 



200 WITH THE COLORS IX WAR TIME. 

I went direct to Mr. Stanton's home and reported my 
trouble. He in turn became furious at the Colonel, wrote 
me another furlough, and sent me back to my regiment 
with an escort. This time the good colonel respected every- 
thing, and everybody, but Mr. Stanton never forgot the 
insult to his authority. 

I attended the "Free Military School," then went before 
the Board of Examiners in Washington, and passed for 
what was then called a "ist Class, First Lieutenant," for a 
company of colored troops. The great battle of Spottsyl- 
vania had been fought in the mean time, and I having suc- 
cessfully flanked it, took '' French leave " of Washington and 
started for my old regiment at the front, arriving there just 
in time to take part in the battle of Cold Harbor, and all 
subsequent battles with the regiment, including those 
around Petersburg, and the first battle at Deep Bottom. 

While absent at the military school, I had been pro- 
moted to first lieutenant in my own company, C, 99th 
Pa. Vols., and took command as lieutenant in the regiment, 
at Cold Harbor, having been excused from going into a 
colored regiment. Then Captain Moore, Lieutenant Bach- 
man and myself were ordered home to raise a new regiment. 
That was the trio Mr. Stanton took down in his memo- 
randum book, and through him and General Birney the 
order was obtained. Moore was to have been colonel, 
Bachman, lieutenant-colonel, and I major, of the new regi- 
ment. 

PRISON AND PROMOTION. 

Just before we could start home to recruit the new regi- 
ment, I was taken prisoner. Moore and Bachman raised 



HOW TO MAKE CONSCRIPTS FIGHT. 20I 

the new regiment, — the 203d Penna. Vols., — in Philadel- 
phia, in less than a month, and immediately marched with 
it to North Carolina. Colonel Moore was killed while lead- 
ing the 203d Pa., in the assault on Fort Fisher, and Bach- 
man was promoted colonel. 

Immediately after the battle of Cold Harbor, General 
Grant moved the Army of the Potomac to the south side 
of James River, in front of Petersburg, Va., and on June 
17 or 18, 1864, the day after its arrival there, it fought 
a desperate battle in trying to capture that city. 

Our brigade had just received several invoices of raw re- 
cruits, made up in most part of conscripts, who were in- 
clined to be anything but patriotic and soldierly, — declared 
they wouldn't fight, and if taken into a battle would either 
desert to the enemy in front, or run away to the rear. 
They made no secret of their designs, so the commanders 
of regiments and brigades were compelled to take prompt 
and decisive action to thwart them, and they did it in the 
following way. More than half of the soldiers in the brig- 
ade were old veterans, and they were detailed and divided 
up into two parts, one part to be equally distributed 
throughout each company in every regiment, and the other 
part was sent out on the skirmish line, in charge of an of^- 
cer. I was placed in charge of those in front of our regi- 
ment, and before advancing to our position, each man was 
supplied with a spade, one day's rations of food and water, 
and 60 rounds of ammunition. 

Under cover of the darkness, about two o'clock in the 
morning, we advanced on our hands and knees to within a 
few hundred feet of the rebel skirmish line, and then each 



202 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

man dug a hole, large and deep enough to lie down and 
move about in comfortably, without being seen by the 
enemy. When daylight came our work was completed, and 
the rebels knew nothing about it. At 3 o'clock that after- 
noon the troops advanced to give battle to the enemy. The 
moment it had passed the skirmish line, which was itself a 
line of battle, in single file beneath the surface, the old 
veterans in the regiments in front were ordered to shoot or 
bayonet any conscript refusing to fight, or caught deserting 
to the enemy, and the old soldiers in their holes on the 
skirmish line were sternly ordered to instantly kill any man 
trying to pass to the rear, unless wounded. There the 
poor conscripts were between two fires, — viz., the fire of 
the enemy in front, and the fire of their friends in the 
rear; besides the fire of the veterans in the ranks right 
alongside of them. They were completely cornered, and 
had to fight or die ; so rather than die without any show 
whatever for their lives, they stood square up to the rack 
and took their chances with the rest of us, and fought like 
demons. From that time on we had no more trouble with 
'' drafted men." 

During that battle the 99th had two adjutants killed. 
One, the regular adjutant of the regiment, was killed at the 
front, carrying orders to and fro. The Colonel appointed 
another on the spot, and sent him to the rear for some- 
thing. There, over half a mile from the skirmish line and 
the battlefield, and down in an immense ravine, where it 
seemed to be entirely free from danger, the new adjutant 
stopped to wash his hands and face in a little brook, and 
while stooping over, a stray bullet from the enemy came 



''MAKING A MAN'' OF ME. 2QX 

along and killed him. That adjutant was a poor man, 
while the other one was rich, but the bodies were both 
embalmed and sent home at the same time, to their rela- 
tives in Philadelphia. By a strange coincidence, the names 
and addresses to be placed on the boxes containing the 
remains, were by mistake changed ; that error caused 
great confusion in Philadelphia, for the box containing- the 
remains of the poor man went to the rich man's relatives, 
and the other went to the poor man's friends. When the 
mistake was discovered, the wealthy people defrayed all 
the funeral expenses. 

In a little over a month after that battle I was captured 
on the skirmish line, at a place north of the James River, 
called "Deep Bottom"; it was about the time of the 
great "Mine explosion " in front of Petersburg. 

Our lines were not long enough by a mile or so, and the 
rebels came right around on our flank and rear. Before we 
knew it, more than a dozen of us were between two fires, 
and compelled to surrender or die. 

Not being ready to die just then, we surrendered. A 
rebel captain kicked off a board from a fence near, grabbed 
me by the shoulders, dragged me through, and said he 
" would make a man of me." While saying that, he took 
my hat, a bran new one, put it on his own head, and 
placed his own old, greasy, slouch hat on my head, pulling 
it way down over my eyes and ears. The ridiculous busi- 
ness made us both laugh, right in the midst of the fighting, 
and as he was ordering me to the rear, a shell from a mor- 
tar on one of our gun-boats in the James River came along, 
burst, and blew him to atoms. I made my way to the rear, 
and to Libby Prison, under guard, just as fast as I could. 



204 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



In about a month from that date, our army liad a fight 
with the rebels on the Weldon Railroad, near Petersburg, 
and lost several thousand men, taken prisoners. The fol- 
lowing day the prisoners were brought to Richmond, and 
among them a few wounded colored men. They were all 
passed in review before "Dick" Turner, the fiend in 
charge of Libby Prison. The column stopped, and a 
wounded colored soldier, on crutches, who had almost bled 
to death, dropped down in his tracks, and Dick Turner 
gave him several heavy kicks trying to get him up. We 
hooted at him, through the prison grates. He ordered us 
back from, the windows, under penalty of instant death. 
We, like good soldiers, obeyed. At lo o'clock that night 
we were aroused from our slumbers by the music of a brass 
band marching into the prison, up stairs, and right into our 
sleeping apartment, a room fifty or sixty feet long, and 
about twenty feet wide. Said band was at the head of a 
file of rebel soldiers, with loaded guns and fixed bayonets 
commanded by " Dick," himself. He marched the band 
and soldiers around the room about half an hour, made 
every one of us (about 400, all of^cers) fall into line, between 
a double guard of rebel soldiers, at a charge bayonet, and 
then told us to commence " marking time," and ordered the 
guard to shoot or bayonet the first man who stopped be- 
fore daylight the next morning, — said he would teach us 
to " hoot " at him again. That was the hardest night's 
work I ever did, and on an empty stomach too, for the 
wretch had cut off our rations of corn bread for that after- 
noon and evening. 

From Libby we were taken to Salisbury, N. C, where 



FA' /so A' EXFEKIEXCES. 20S 

there were about ten thousand of our enlisted men, prison- 
ers of war. Nothing but a line of rebel guards separated 
the men from the of^cers within the enclosure, called a 
stockade. So we commenced to plot and plan for a break 
and escape. 

SUCCOR BY PROXY. 

By an oversight on our part the rebels found it out, and 
immediately sent the officers to Danville, Va., and there 
put us in an old tobacco warehouse that contained three 
floors. In order to be out of the way, I took up my posi- 
tion on the third floor, in the corner farthest from the 
stairs. A few days after our arrival there, a rebel officer 
came to the head of the stairs, on the floor where I existed, 
mounted an empty candle-box, and called out as follows ; 

" Any you Yanks who would like to supply food to 
my brother, now a prisoner of war on Johnson's Island, 
Lake Erie, captured at Gettysburg, I will furnish you in 
return." Every officer jumped at the chance, and then I 
commenced to bemoan my situation, condemned myself 
for taking up a position so far from the head of the stairs, 
and mentally resolved never to do such a foolish thing 
again. There was a regular scramble among the officers to 
see who would be the " lucky one," when the rebel captain 
firmly told everybody he would not furnish them with any- 
thing until he first heard that his brother had been sup- 
pHed. I saw and heard it all, and I saw every man leave 
the Captain as if by magic. Then I jumped up, and yelled 
at the top of my voice, saying / would do it. He instantly 
discovered me, pointed and yelled at the top of his voice, 



2o6 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

saying, " You are just the man I am looking for. I thought 
there was one honest man in this crowd, who was willing to 
trust me." He was Captain Hutter, a resident of Lynch- 
burg, Va. 

Although a rebel, he was an honest, upright, whole- 
souled man. He commenced supplying me from that 
moment, and kept it up till I was released from captivity. 
His brother wrote him from Johnson's Island, Lake Erie, 
that I had more than kept my part of the compact. That 
my friends had taken clothing, provisions, and money in 
great abundance to him, but as the United States Govern- 
ment was retaliating on prisoners of war, he was not allowed 
to accept. He wrote his brother in Danville the strongest 
letters in my behalf, telling him to do anything he could 
for me, which his brother in Danville did, from first to last ; 
fed me, and several of my prison friends, sumptuously. 
Went all the way to Richmond, and made " Dick " Turner, 
of Libby Prison, surrender all the money he had robbed us' 
of when captured. Procured a special order from the C. S. 
Government for my exchange ; this was not used by me, 
as the general parole of prisoners was near at hand. He 
had me measured for a suit of clothes that was to have cost 
twenty-seven Jmndred and fifty dollars, in rebel money, but 
did not wait to get them, because I had to go North before 
they were finished.* That was in 1865, just before the 
close of the war, when everything in the South was dear 
and scarce, and a barrel of flour was worth twelve hundred 
and fifty dollars. 

* It was said Captain Hutter was a son of one of the wealthiest men in the South be- 
fore the war. Owned several plantations, and several hundred slaves. Captain Hutter 
was ordnance officer at Danville, Va., at the time he met me in prison. 



''WHEN JOHNiVIE COMES MARCHING HOME.' 207 



A TRANSFORMATION. 

On returning to my regiment, May 17, 1865, after I had 
been declared exchanged, I found a letter from the Ad- 
jutant-general of Pennsylvania, enclosing me a commission 
as Captain of Company C, 99th Regiment, Pa. Veteran 
Volunteers, to rank from September 12, 1864. I was then 
just a little past twenty-one, and captain of the same 
company, in the same regiment, in which I enlisted as a 
"high private" in 1861, when but a little over eighteen 
years of age. This is a fac- 
simile of a photograph taken 
of me in a captain's uniform, 
July, 1865, soon after the 
war ended. My long and te- 
dious experience as a pris- 
oner of war had worn me 
down, and made me look 
thin and pale. However, I 
did not mind that, for look- 
ing back over my four long 
years of the most active kind of service, barely touched 
upon in this article, I could not but feel thankful for hav- 
ing passed through the whirlpool of excitement and danger 
unharmed. Besides all that, the final victory had been 
gained, Slavery obliterated, the Rebellion crushed, and 
the Union saved. 

But what a contrast. The little, scrawny, eighteen-year- 
old boy, with a knapsack on his back, marching down 
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, a Private in the rear 




2o8 WITH THE COLOA'S IN WAR TIME. 

rank, and at the tail end of the regiment, in July, i86i ; — 
and the same person marching down the same thorough- 
fare, after the war was over, Captain, commanding Com- 
pany C, of the same regiment, during the Great Review, 
by the President and his Cabinet, of two hundred thou- 
sand men. 

February 9th, 1866, the Secretary of War sent me a 
" Medal of Honor," accompanied by a letter of transmittal. 

"War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, 
" Washington, February 9, 1866. 
" Sir : — Herewith I enclose the Medal of Honor which has been awarded 
you by the Secretary of War, under the Resolution of Congress, approved 
July 12, 1862, To provide for the presentation of 'Medals of Honor' to 
the Enlisted Men of the Army and Volunteer forces who have distinguished 
or may distinguish themselves in battle during the present Rebellion. 
" Please acknowledge its receipt. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
*' (Signed) E. D. Townsend, 

" Assistant Adjutant-General. 
"To Harvey M. Munsell, Late Color-Sergt., 99th Regiment, P. V. V." 




battle-flag 99TH PA. volunteers. 

(CARRIBD THROUGH 15 BATTLES BV SERGEANT MUNSKLL.J 



PLUCKING VICTORY FROM DEFEAT. 

PATRICK GINLEY was born in Ireland, Dec. nth, 
1822. His fondness for a militar}- life developed 
early in life, and as a result, at twenty years of age, he 
enlisted in the Fifth Dragoon Guards of the British Armv, 
and served eleven 3^ears. He re-enlisted in the Eighteenth 
Royal Irish Infantry, where he served six years. He 
served in the Crimea and was at the battles of Balak- 
lava, Inkerman and Sebastopol. He also served in 
India during the mutiny. Ginley came to this country 
in 1858, and made New York City his home. In 1859 ^e 
joined the 69th New York State Militia, and was with 
the regiment during its three months' service in 1S61. 

Ginley was one of the first to re-enlist for the war when 
the regiment returned from Washington, and he served 
in the 69th Volunteers, until he was assigned to Hogan's 
battery. In May, 1862, he was attached to Ames' batterv, 
First New York Artillery. He served in this battery 
until May, 1864, when he was detailed as mounted orderl}'- 
at Headquarters, Artillery Brigade , Second Armv Corps. 
It was while on this detail that this brave soldier won 
the Medal of Honor. 

209 



GINLEVS LOST SHOT. 211 

During the battle of Reams' Station, Ginley was told 
by General Hancock to accompany Colonel Walker, who 
was directed to go to General Barlow and find out what 
Confederate troops were in his front. On their way 
there they were exposed to a severe cross fire. To avoid 
this as much as possible, they made their way through a 
cut, which the orderly had passed through some time 
before, and which led to some breastworks which had 
been occupied by our troops. These works were now 
held by the enemy, who were concealed behind them 
Colonel Walker, who was in advance, not knowing this, 
rode up to the breastworks and was immediately made a 
prisoner. When Ginley saw this, he wheeled his horse 
around with the intention of escaping, but the enemy 
fired at him and his horse fell, pierced by several bullets. 
When the brave s'oldier, who was unharmed, extricated 
himself from his fallen horse, he found himself lying near 
a piece of artillery which had been abandoned and which 
was partially concealed from the enemy. He crawled 
over to it for shelter, but, seeing several charges of can- 
ister lying beside it, the idea came to him to load the gun. 
With the assistance of a Massachusetts soldier who was 
lying concealed near the gun, he rammed home three 
charo-es. The enemy discovered him at his work, and 
called out to him to surrender, as they came swarming 
out of the works yelling. Ginley pulled the lanyard, 
and there was a volcano of fire and smoke and screaming 
canister. He started to the rear, and in a few minutes 
ran into a ISIassachusetts regiment. His brave deed had 
been witnessed by our troops, and he was received with 



212 PLUCKIXG VICTORY FROM DEFEAT. 

cheers. Our line, having been re-enforced, was now 
advancing, and Ginley with them. For awhile he assisted 
in the 12th New York Battery, carrying ammunition — 
but soon the infantry passed the guns, and seizing the 
colors of a regiment which had just been dropped by the 
color-bearer, who was shot, he ran ahead of the regiment, 
cheering them on. Soon the enemy gave way, and he 
planted the Hag on the breastworks where only a short 
time before he had fired the gun. The deadly effect of 
those three charges of canister could be plainly seen. 
The brave Massachusetts soldier who had assisted him 
was lying near the gun dead, not having been so fortu- 
nate as our hero in getting away. 

The following letters bear testimony to the gallantry 
of Private Ginley : 



Reams Station, Sept. 2yd, 1S64. 
Sir, — The bearer of this note, Private Patrick Ginley, of Battery 
G, 1st N. Y. Artillery, distinguished himself in the battle of Reams 
Station, August 25th. General Hunt desires that some report favorable 
to the bearer be made out, enabling him to be recommended for a medal, 
as, after having his horse shot, he served voluntarily with your battery. 
You will be kind enough to attend to this immediately, as his time 
expires on the 27th inst. 

Very respectfully. W. S. Worth, 

Captain 8th U. S. Infantry, and Chief of General Hunt's Staff. 
To Commanding Officer 12th N. Y. Battery. 



HONORABLE MENTION. 213 

II. 

Camp in front of Petersburg, 

1 2th N. Y. Battery, Sept. zyd, 1864. 
I take pleasure in reconrnending- to favorable notice and suitable 
award, Private Patrick Ginley, Co., G, ist N. Y. Artillery, acting 
orderly in the Artillery Brigade, 2nd Army Corps. Private Ginley came 
under my particular notice in the action of Aug. 25th, 1864, at Reams 
Station, Va., where he was most efficient in assisting my cannoneers in 
carrying ammunition while the enemy were advancing upon the Battery, 
remaining with me until the enemy were close upon the guns, and 
then participating with the infantry in retaking the breastworks. 

G. W. Dauchy, 
Lt. Commanding i3th N. Y. Battery. 

r 

Private Ginley's term of service expired Sept. 27th, 
1864, but he refused to take his discharge, and he 
remained as volunteer orderl}' at Second Corps Head- 
quarters until Lee's surrender. 




SERGEANT JOHN H. COOK. 
II9TH ILLINOIS VOL. INFANTRY. 

" MAD, CLEAR THROUGH." 



IN offering a sketch of my military career for publica- 
tion, I do it reluctantly, knowing I am far less worthy 
a place in History than many others whose names are men- 
tioned in the War Department list, in a single line, or 
those whose brave deeds will never be known. 

It was a long while ago, but there were scenes in my 
soldier life that memory recalls so vividly that they seem 
but yesterday. But I do not have to trust, entirely, to 
memory to tell my little story, as one of the " Medal of 
Honor Be ys," of how I won my country's decoration. 

My mother, God bless her ! preserved all my war let- 
ters, numbering nearly one hundred. They are all in my 
possession now. They were written and mailed as regu- 
larly as possible, for I knew she was anxious to hear 
from her boy. I often turn to these quaint old letters for 

214 



FORAGING. 



215 



data and particulars of my soldier life. They are typical 
of a hot-headed soldier boy, filled with predictions of 
how soon the war would end, and of criticisms of what 
our Generals had done and should do. But, mainly 
chronicled from my diary, they tell of our marches, cam- 
paigns, battles and every important event that befel us, 
dwelling particularly on the doings of my own Company,, 
Regiment and Brigade. 

In August, 1862, I enlisted in Co. A, 119th Illinois In- 
fantry, at Camp Wood, Quincy, 111. In a few days I was 
promoted to Sergeant. It was not long before our thirst 
for gore was somewhat satisfied by an order sending us; 
to Tennessee, where we were strung out on a long line 
to guard a railroad. 

Our colonel, and three companies were taken prison, 
ers by General Forrest's force of nearly 10,000. 

My company built a stockade at Buntyn Station, and 
we worked hard to make our fortification invincible. 
We remained at this place, waiting for ordei's to move ; 
but none coming, we were soon out of provisions and 
had to subsist on what we could " forage " from the 
plantations around us. 

This section of the country was then full of armed 
" Guerrillas," and we began to suffer hunger before we 
ventured out, in small squads, to hunt for rebel planta- 
tions ; but we had to do it or starve. I shall never forget 
one of our midnight raids, when our captain and most 
of the company marched out nearly ten miles, arriv- 
ing at a large plantation an hour before daylight. We 
marched noiselessly up on the long porch, and " ordered 



2i6 "MAD, CLEAR THRO UGH." 

arms " with such a " sickening thud " that it scared 
the old planter out of his wits. The darkies were sum- 
moned to prepare breakfast for us, and soon we were 
scattered about in squads in the different cabins, watch- 
ing the baking of corn pones and sweet potatoes. Soon, 
well satisfied with the best breakfast we had tasted for 
many a day, we loaded up two wagons and returned to 
our stockade. 

One of the boys thought he would carry home a bee- 
hive of hone}' ; he shouldered it and ran for sweet life, 
thinking the bees would fiy out from the bottom of the 
hive and leave him the sole possessor of the honey ; but 
the bees attacked him so vigorously that he was glad to 
drop the hive and run still faster. He was a sorry look- 
ing object when daylight disclosed his features, his face 
being swollen to nearly twice its natural size. 

We were finally flooded out of our quarters by heavy 
rains. Cold weather set in and we had to wade nearly a 
quarter of a mile, knee deep in water, breaking the ice at 
every step. Finally we joined our regiment ; our colonel 
and the three companies having been exchanged, we 
were once more all together. From here we went to 
Memphis, where we lav in camp and drilled until we 
were thoroughlv disciplined soldiers. 

In those davs we did not believe that discipline and 
drill were necessar}- to make good soldiers. In this we 
had the backing of Col. Ingersol, commander of another 
Illinois regiment, who thoroughly despised what he 
called the " show business." He believed that his regi- 
ment would make up in bravery what it lacked in disci- 



' PINAFORE " DISCIPLINE. 



217 



pline. I remember an anecdote which fully illustrated 
his regard for his men, as well as his good heart. 

It was just before the command moved South that the 
colonel was to be married. The weather was as disagree- 
able as one could imagine — snow, ice and cutting winds. 
Nevertheless the guards were on duty, just the same as 
they were where the fighting was expected. All of the 
arrangements for the marriage of the commander were 
made, when he rode out to the fair grounds to see the 
boys. Riding around the lines he discovered the pickets 
shivering, and his S3mipathies were thoroughly aroused. 
Finally he was halted by one poor fellow. 

" Colonel," said he, " I am aoout to freeze. You must 
give me a bottle of whiskey, an overcoat, or relieve me, 
or you will move to the front with one less private." 

" You shall have all three," replied the colonel, and 
suiting the action to tlie word, he pulled off his overcoat, 
and as he hr.n led it to the man, said : 

" There's the overcoat. In the inside pocket you will 
find a bottle of whiskey, and you are relieved from dutv." 

I passed nearly three months in the Union Hospital, 
was reported to my compan}- as dead ; but I was a tough 
boy, got well, and rejoined my command in time for 
General Sherman's raid from Vicksburg to Meridian and 
back, a distance of nearly four hundred miles. 

About half way to Meridian we formed a junction 
with the 17th Army Corps. Our regiment was tired out 
with the day's march of thirty miles, when, just at dark, 
our corps commander. General Hurlbut, issued orders 
that we should pass the 17th Corps before halting. We 



2i8 MAD, CLEXR THROUGH. 

had just struck the rear of that command, which was 
strung out ahead of us for nearly twenty miles. Foot- 
sore, tired, hungry and sleepy, we trudged along. For 
awhile the air was blue with lanp;uage which will not 
bear repetition. It was nearly daylight when the frag- 
ment of our regiment halted. There were just four 
muskets of Company A to stack; mine was one of the 
four. The rest of the boys were straggling for nearly 
twenty miles. They had to catch up the next day. 

" Uncle Billy " simply made us " hump it," until we 
reached our destination. We had but little fighting, 
for the Johnnies skedaddled as fast as we • came on to 
them. 

On our return to Vicksburg, we received orders to 
join General Banks for his Red River campaign. 

To make this expedition. General Banks was required 
to communicate with Generals Sherman, Steele and 
Admiral Porter, as well as General Grant, and all five of 
these commanders understood and executed their orders 
in the same sense. Banks was assigned to the command, 
and the movement was to begin about the middle of 
March, when Red River would be high and navigation 
on it by gunboats would be practicable. General Sher- 
man promptly arranged to send 10,000 men of the i6th 
and 17th Army Corps, under command of General A. J. 
Smith, to join Admiral Porter's fleet of gunboats. We 
arrived at the mouth of Red River on the 13th of March, 
and on the 14th assaulted the works of Fort De Russy. 
General Smith's loss was 34 killed and wounded. We 
took 260 prisoners, 8 heavy guns, and 2 field pieces. 



SMITH'S GUERRILLAS." 



219 



Admiral Porter at once proceeded with his fleet up 
the river, and we, on our transports, landed at Alexan- 
dria ahead of time. Banks, detained in New Orleans, did 
not arrive until the end of March. He then received 
instructions from Lieutenant-General Grant (who had 
just taken command of the armies of the U. S.), that 
unless this campaign could be closed by the end of April, 
it should be abandoned. The i6th Corps was then to 
join the Army of the Tennessee for the Atlanta cam- 
paign, and Banks was to go against Mobile. 

General Halleck's orders were not revoked, and Banks 
was in a dilemma. He decided to tr}^ and take the trick 
before the limit of time set by General Grant. 

1 well remember, when we were landed from our trans- 
ports, the bitter criticism of General Banks, on the disci- 
pline of the i6th Army Corps. Having got a report 
from his reviewing officer as to our manner of straggling 
and procuring " forage," he said : " I asked Sherman for 

io,ooD of his best men, and he has sent me 10,000 d 

Guerrillas." From that time until the end of the war, we 
carried with pride, the name of "Smith's Guerrillas." 
For nearly two 3'ears we had been constantly in the field, 
many times cut off frofn all supplies, and we had learned 
zuell the art of foraging. 

On the 3d of April, Banks' whole army was concentrated 
near Nachitoches. Franklin's Divisions of the 13th and 
19th Army Corps, headed for Shreveport, started on the 
/th. Our i6th Corps, taking up the line of march, now 
numbered 7,000 men, nearl}- 3,000 having been withdrawn 
to rejoin General McPherson. Meantime, before we 



220 MAD, CLEAR THROUGH. 

reached Pleasant Plill (a distance of 33 miles, which we 
marched in a day and part of the night), the battle of 
Sabine Cross Roads had been fought, the 13th and 19th 
Corps badly whipped, and all hope of taking, or even 
rr^rcV/Zz/o-Shreveport was ended. Banks ordered a retreat, 
and at 8 o'clock the next morning, April 9th, his two 
corps took position of defence at Pleasant Hill. The 
wagon train, under escort of a brigade, was started back 
to Grand Ecore. 

Daylight had disclosed to the confederates the retreat 
of the Union forces, but about noon they found an oppos- 
ing solid front. 

I had previously been detailed as clerk to Brigade 
Quartermaster Delos Allen. The soldier who does his 
whole duty is a good enough soldier, but he who does 
7nP7'c than his dut}^ may be recognized as a better one. 
My duty on the day of the battle of Pleasant Hill was to 
remain at Brigade Headquarters, subject only to the 
order of mv Brigade Quartermaster, and had I done so 
on this occasion, I should have been a non-combatant, 
the thought of which was distasteful to m}^ soldier spirit; 
so I told him I was going into the battle with my com- 
pany. Arming m3'self with a breech-loading Sharp's 
rifle, and " forty rounds," I joined them, taking my ser- 
geant's place in the rear of the company. I was without 
canteen, haversack or blanket, having only a good big 
plug of tobacco, my rifle and " forty rounds." 

The position assigned my regiment was on the 
extreme left of the line, my company being posted in 
advance as skirmishers in the woods. We lav in this 



PLEASAXT HILL. 221 

position from early in the morning until about 3 o'clock 
in the afternoon, witnessing, from our commanding posi- 
tion, the battle on the right and centre. We were 
ordered to hold our position at all hazards, as a flank 
movement of the enemy might be expected at any 
moment, which we must stubbornly resist before falling 
back. 

Our army had rather a disadvantage of ground ; the 
position was easily turned, and we could not stay in it 
for want of zvatcr. None was to be had. About 5 
o'clock, the Confederates, having been heavily re-in- 
forced, made a furious assault on us, hammered in our 
centre, doubled up bur right, and fell vigorously on our 
left, which was the weakest part of Gen. Emory's posi- 
tion. Here Benedict's brigade, outnumbered and 
crushed, gave way, and its brave leader fell dead. 

There was nothing left to stop the cyclone now but 
" Smith's Guerrillas," and it seemed that we, in the 
woods, were to be flanked, and the whole army bagged. 
A sickening feeling came over me as I took in the situa- 
tion. But " Smith's Guerrillas " had never been 
whipped ; they were now to be put to the test. It was 
not long after we began to move further into the galling 
fire, that we could see the whole of our command advanc- 
ing in a gallant charge. The scene here recalled was 
too vivid to ever pass from my memory. The Rebs 
were coming through the woods to flank us. It looked 
to me like ten to one against us. Brave, dauntless, 
intrepid Lieutenant '' Jack " Ware, took command of our 
skirmishers and ordered me to lead the line. Advancing 



222 MAD, CLEAR THROUGH. 

under a heavy musketry fire, and rapidly firing, 1 turned 
back to cheer on the boys, when I saw old John 
Maclntyre, a brave and sturdy Scotchman (he was the 
pet and pride of Co. A.), throw up his left hand and 
fall forward. I ran back to him. Two or three of the 
boys gathered around him and we saw that he was 
instantly killed. Then I was mad — mad clear through. 
I ran forward again, rapidly firing my breech-loader. In 
a moment a musketry fire was focused on me ; the bidlets 
whizzed around me thick. One went through my right 
coat sleeve, another through my hat, and one so close to 
my cheek that 1 could feel it^burn; but I cared nothing 
for life or death. I was in to stay. It seemed to me 
just then that if our little company did not hold our 
ofround that we should be flanked and our army 
defeated, and that if /did not do iny duty, and cheer on 
our bo3^s, they might not stand. It was here that I won 
my " Medal of Honor" (upon recommendation of Lieu- 
tenant Ware). I had fired my " forty rounds," my last 
cartridge was gone ; with my empty breech-loader still 
smoking, I raised it in my right hand, and with my hat 
waving in my left, ran forward, cheering on the boys. 
I felt a good deal as General Corse expressed himself in 
his famous dispatch to General Sherman : " I am out of 
provisions, I have lost an ear and part of a cheek bone, 
but I can whip all hell yet I" 

Well, our brave bovs rallied ; it was a sudden rush. 
We took a number of prisoners and the Rebs gave wav. 
Reinforcements came up, and soon our whole line 
advanced, and Companv A shared fully in gaining a 




Oh 



224 MAD, CLEAR THROUGH. 

great victory. That night, in passing among the dead 
and wounded, on the battlefield, I was implored by man}- 
for help, but the pleading of a Confederate officer, to 
carry him to the rear, to our field hospital, was more 
than I could withstand. 1 got a stretcher, and with 
another comrade, took him to the surgeon. I wonder if 
he is yet alive ! 

My company held the picket line that night. T had 
had nothing to eat all day. I was not very hungry, for I 
had chewed up my big plug of tobacco, but I was faint, 
and my vitals began to gnaw. Just as it was growing 
dark 1 picked up a haversack, slung it over my shoulder, 
and thrusting my hand into the broken crackers, I dis- 
covered they were satui'ated with blood — the life blood 
of some poor fellow — but in those da3^s a generous com- 
rade would " divide his last hard tack," and for the ask- 
ing I got half a cracker. It was not a princely banquet. 
We laid down in line, ever}' man with his musket in his 
hand. Worn out from the previous day's march and the 
day's fighting, it took but a moment to be asleep, but 
constantly changing our position, we could sleep but a 
few minutes at a time. We could plainly hear the rebel 
pickets. General Banks had held a council with his 
generals, and, thinking of his stranded fleet of gunboats 
above the rapids, on the shoals of Red River, and his 
source of supplies in danger of being cut off, he decided 
to retreat. This -decision was bitterly opposed by Gen- 
eral Smith, but the retreat was ordered, and we left our 
dead and wounded on the field. We retreated all the 



FIGHT AT TUPELO, 22$ 

p.ext da}', and when we halted, we were a tired, worn- 
out lot of stragglers. 

I suppose everybody has heard how Admiral Porter's 
fleet was taken over the rapids, and saved, through the 
skill and genius of Lieutenant Colonel Baile}-. We 
fought our way, being harrassed in the rear, all the way 
down to the mouth of Red River, our brigade losing, at 
Yellow Bayou, over two hundred'men. 

The campaign was a failure ; it was not due to an}' 
fault of the rank and file. A more valorous army was. 
never in the field. The total force of Banks' Army was 
31,303, his total losses in the campaign 5,245. 

After the Red River campaign, we were ordered back 
to ?\Iemphis. Forrest, with 10,000 men, had just whipped 
General Sturgis at Guntown, and we were t(j pay back 
the score, which we did, with good interest, at Tupelo, 
Miss. In this battle my duty was carrying ammunition 
to our brigade. I was mounted, and took one box of 
cartridges at a time. My horse was shot under me. 
Our boys laid down on the side of a sloping hill, raising 
up only when charged by the Rebs. Every assault was 
repulsed with terrible slaughter. This was the worst 
licking Forrest's command ever got. 

On this expedition we subsisted on quarter rations, 
and green corn plucked from the field. An incident 
occurred on the march back to Memphis, which fondly 
lingers in my memory : Tired out from marching 1 had 
made up my mind to stop and rest. A short distance 
away, 1 spied a running stream. Going to it, I saw our 
regimental Quartermaster Sergeant sitting in the shade 



226 MAD, CLEAR THROUGH. 

of a tree just in the act of opening a can of pine-apple. 
He invited me to share it with him. We took off our 
shoes, bathed our aching feet in the crystal stream and 
enjoyed that delicious pine-apple as I had never before 
or since relished canned fruit. I suppose that little 
stream still murmurs on, but of the " boys in blue "' who 
tramped on by it, where are they now ! 

Our next campaign was from St. Louis through 
Missouri and back — several hundred miles. We drove 
out Price and his force, and got to Nashville just in time 
to reinforce General Thomas, and there helped fight one 
of the decisive battles of the war. 

If I here pay a tribute to my own company— dear old 
Company A ! — it will not be out of place. 

Leaving Camp Wood, at Ouincy, 111., in 1862, Company 
A, 119th 111. Vols., w^as 100 strong. When mustered out 
in 1865, but 21 oi^cers and men stood in line. 

While General Lee was surrendering the Confederate 
armies to General Grant, at Appomattox, April 9th, 
1865, Company A was charging the works of Fort Blake- 
ley, and seven o^ our 28 were left on the field. One 
died of starvation, and sleeps with the 14,000 other 
Union mart^'rs in Andersonville ; another (his brother), 
escaped, but was run down with bloodhounds, recap- 
tured, escaped again, and finally stood before Abraham 
Lincoln, a helpless and starved cripple for life. 

There was no privation, no fatigue, no hardship, that 
Avas not experienced by my regiment, and its dead lie 
sleeping in almost every Southern state. 

Let us not forget that noble sentiment : 



RETROSPECTION. 22/ 

" With cheers for the Uving, 
With tears for the dead." 

As for myself, I am not so hotheaded and foolhardy 
after 26 years, but, under the same circumstances, I 
might do the same, for I would rather lie buried in the 
briars, brush and woods of Pleasant Hill, and sleep along- 
side of old John Maclntyre, and his many brave com- 
panions, than to be a coward before my comrades, or to 
desert the cause for which we fought. 

I think the proudest moment of my life was when 
complimented on the field by Lieutenant Ware. And 
next to that was when I received, from the War Depart- 
ment, the Medal of Honor. It came engraved with this 
inscription : 

" The Congress to Sergeant John H. Cook Company A. 119th Ills. 
Infantry, for conspicuous bravery, at battle of Pleasant Hill, La.. April 
9V. i, 1864." « 





MAJOR JOHN D. TERRY. 
TWEXTV-THIRD MASS. INFANTRY. 

AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH. 



HERE is a soldier-like, modest account by Major 
John D. Terry, U. S. V., of the way in Avhich 
he lost a foot and gained promotion and the Medal. 
Although he sought, and found, literally in the cannon's 
mouth, what men call Reputation, it has proved more 
enduring than the " bubble " of which the poet speaks. 

" On the 13th day of JMarch, 1862, the 23d Regiment 
Mass. Vols., landed some fifteen miles below Newberne, 
N. C, my arm still very sore and lame from a contused 
wound received in the fight at Roanoke Island, some 
few weeks before. Company " E," in which 1 was a ser- 
geant, was recruited in the old historic town of Ply- 
mouth, Mass., of strong, healthy, robust young fellows, all 
of whom were accustomed to the management of boats, 

229 



230 



AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH. 



and therefore we were detailed to man the boats and 
disembark the regiment. I had charge of the vessel's 
" cutter," and worked very hard in order to make the 
most landings. After the regiment was all ashore we 
took up line of march by the right flank towards New- 
berne. It came on to rain very hard and the narrow road 
was in bad condition. Just before dark we went into 
bivouac in the woods, on the left of the road, having 
marched about thirteen miles that day, very hungr}-, 
cold, wet, sore and ^ired. My arm became very painful, 
and to sleep was entirely out of the question, and to 
make a fire was contrary to orders. Daylight, however, 
broke at last and with a little half cooked coffee and well 
soaked crackers, we were soon on our way to " do or die," 
and almost before we knew it, were under fire, shooting 
away for dear lift;. In going from the road into and up 
through a little ravine — column of fours — the Colonel 
(John Kurtz) passed us and called to me to go with him. 
I had been acting as right general guide of the reo-i- 
ment. Soon afterw:irds the Colonel ordered me to o-q 
down the rear of the line and find the Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel. In obeying this order I saw that the regimental 
line was very ragged ; everybody seemed to be all mixed 
up with one another, and badly scattered from their own 
companies. I sought out Compan}^ E, and found the 
men brave as young lions, but in bad order and no offi- 
cer in command — captain wounded. I immsdiately re- 
ported these facts to the Colonel, whereupon to my great 
astonishment and delight, he ordered me to go back and 
take command of the company. I did so, and succeeded 



FRUITS OF VICTORY. 23 1 

in getting the men well up and together, and they very 
soon became steady as old veterans. We had been tiring 
some little time when the Lieutenant-Colonel came to me 
and asked if I saw a single gun (12 Ibr.) that the enemy 
had got out in front of " Fort Thompson," — this fort 
contained 12 guns. I answered him that I did. This 
single gun was doing our ranks great injury. 

The Lieutenant-Colonel then asked me if I thought we 
could charge and take it. We charged, we got the gun, 
the very last shot from which, before we reached it, got 
me with seven other, comrades— including the Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, killed. My foot was gone, and we were 
left on the field in very nearly the same spot as where we 
fell. Our regiment claimed this gun, and General Burn- 
side ordered that it should remain with the regiment. 
Some days after the fight (and my foot had been ampu- 
tated) Colonel Kurtz and General Burnside visited the 
Hospital (Academy), and the Colonel told me that I 
should have a commission. I got that, and the Con- 
gressional ' Medal of Honor ' besides." 




HIS FIRST TROPHY. 

JOHN NICHOLAS COYNE was born in New York 
City, and wlien the war broke out was engaged in 
literar}- pursuits. The first gun of the Rebellion 
sounded, and the young writer hastened to place himself 
in the van among the defenders of the Union. With this 
object in view, he joined the famous Seventh regiment 
of New York, and went with it to the defence of the 
Capital in April, 1861. 

After the emergency had passed, and the regiment had 
returned to New York, he began recruiting for volun- 
teers for the war. He soon became tired of this, and 
decided to join some regiment in the field — and to shoul- 
der a musket as a private, although he was resigning a 
commission to do so. He enlisted in Company B of the 
First Regiment of Sickles' Excelsior Brigade, His regi- 
ment was stationed on the lower Potomac during the 
winter of 1861-62, arid in the spring he participated with 
it in several expeditions into Virginia. 

The Army of the Potomac reached the Peninsula in the 
spring of '62. and the First Excelsior regiment (Hooker's 

2 '^'^ 



FIGHT FOR THE STANDARD. 



233 



Division), served in the trenches around Yorktown. At 
the battle of Williamsburg the regiment was in the 
thickest of the battle, and is particularly mentioned in 
Fox's book of regimental losses, as having; sustained an 
enormous loss in that battle. The battle had been rag- 
ing for hours, and the regiment had lost heavily. With 
their ammunition exhausted, they were compelled to fall 
back. When Sergeant Coyne retired, he had sixteen of 
his company with him. He went over a part of the field 
where there had been heavy lighting. In passing 
through the smoke of the battle, he suddenly found him- 
self in front of a company of the enemy with their colors. 
When the Sergeant saw the colors lie called out : " Let's 
capture their colors, boys," and although the brave fellows 
were outnumbered, they responded with a cheer, and 
immediately engaged in a hand to hand struggle with 
the enemy, who seemed at first to be taken by surprise. 

Sergeant Coyne's contest was with the rebel color- 
bearer, who was a powerful and determined man. He 
tried to strike down the Sergeant with the staff, but 
Coyne closed with him, and seizing the staff, tried to 
wrest it from the rebel's hands. The struggle was des- 
perate, and was over the bodies of the dead and wounded. 
At last, Coyne got the staff down low enough for him to 
grasp the colors. A bullet at this instant struck the 
rebel's right hand, shattering it badly. The Sergeant, 
seeing his opportunity, let go of the staff with his right 
hand and struck the color-bearer a heavy blow in the 
face. The blow drove the rebel back, and broke his hold 
on the staff. At this instant Sergeant Coyne was struck 



234 



HIS FIRST TROPHY. 



on the shoulder with a musket, but the blow was not 
serious. The rebel had been shot while his musket was 
uplifted, and therefore his opponent escaped with only- 
momentary confusion. When he recovered from this, the 
rebel color-bearer, who had rushed forward to renew the 
contest, fell at his feet, pierced by the bayonet of Ser- 
geant Cook, who immediately fell over his body mortally 
wounded. Sergeant Coyne tore the flag from the staff, 
and tying it around his body, turned and called out : 
"I've got it, boys!" He looked around for his brave 
comrades, but only three of them were left standing ; the 
exciting scenes of the conflict had faded away like mist, 
for Heintzelman had seen the desperate encounter and 
had sent some men to the rescue; but the enemy, who 
had survived the contest, seeing the succor coming, had 
fled, and thus only the pallid and bloody faces of the 
dead and wounded and of his three comrades, met the 
Sergeant's gaze. 

When the brave Cook was picked up he was dead, and 
Corporal Beekman and privates Howard, Lynch and 
others were lying dead not far off. Later in the day, 
when Coyne took out his watch to see the time, he found 
it shattered, a bullet having struck it during the contest. 
The watch can now be seen in his cabinet of relics at 
home. 

Among his most cherished possessions, expressing as 
it does the rarely bestowed praise of a grim commander 
who had earned the right to reward or punish his sol- 
diers. Colonel Coyne guards with jealous care the fol- 
lowing: letter : 



HEINTZELMAN'S LETTER. 



235 



Washington, February, 1867. 
To THE Hon. Secretary of War: 

It would gratify me if the brevet recommended for Colonel Coyne be 
conferred upon him. He was a soldier of distinguished bravery, and at 
W^illiamsburg, Fair Oaks and other fields, won the commendation of his 
superior officers. At Williamsburg, with undaunted bravery and after 
a severe contest, he captured the colors of a rebel regiment and was 
mentioned by me in General Orders for his gallantry. 
Very respectfully, 

S. P. Heintzelman, Major-General. 

For his bravery in this, battle Sergeant Coyne was 
promoted to Second Lieutenant, to date from the battle, 
and received the bronze medal from the government. 

At the battle of Fair Oaks on the morning of June ist, 
Lieutenant Coyne again distinguished himself by making 
a daring reconnoissance within the enemy's lines. 

He was promoted to First Lieutenant Dec. i, 1862, for 
gallant conduct in the field, and placed in command of 
the Color Company. 

He distinguished himself at Chancellorsville bv cap- 
turing several prisoners from Stonewall Jackson's front, 
while on the picket line. 

At Gettysburg he was made adjutant on the field, and 
at the battle of Wapping Heights, Va., three weeks after- 
wards, he had a horse shot under him, and was promoted 
to Captain, to date from this battle, for " conspicuous gal- 
lantry at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Wapping 
Heights." 

In Grant's campaigns with the Army of the Potomac, 
Captain Coyne bore no inconspicuous part. His regiment 



236 



HIS FIRST TROPHY. 



was relieved from duty in the lield in front of Petersburg 
June 23, 1864, and ordered to New York City, where 
he was mustered out with it, July i, 1S64, its three years' 
term of service having expired. 

Believing that his work was not yet done, and knowing 
that the countr}- needed its veterans as much as ever, 
Captain Cojnie accepted a commission, which had been 
tendered to him hy General Hancock, in the First 
Veteran Corps, and served until the cessation of. hostilities 
in 1865. 

He received the brevets of Major and Lieutenant 
Colonel for gallant services during the war, to date from 
March 13th, 1865. 





HEUT. S. N. BENJAMIN. 
SECOND U. S. ARTILLERY. 

THE PATH OF DUTY, THE ROAD TO GLORY. 

IN nearly all great wars, the warriors may be divided 
into two classes — the Volunteer and the Professional. 
The Volunteer, called to arms to support a great prin- 
ciple, to preserve a good government or Bozzaris-like to 
" strike for altars and fires," is as innocent of warlike 
arts as the youthful David, but imbued with similar con- 
fidence he marches forth to meet Goliath, and in time 
comes back the peer in prowess of the soldier of the 
schools. 

The Regular, having made a business of soldiering 
during long and comparatively peaceful years, welcomes 
the storm of strife with true professional ardor. He 
feels that his special training, experience in martial 
detail, habits of subordination, ability to cope with 
emergencies, power to plan and direct campaigns, are at 
238 



Tiro TYPES OF SOLDIERS. 239 

last to be tested. He may, or may not, be in S3'mpathy 
with the causes of the war. But " he knows his duty," 
and quietly goes about its performance. 

The true Volunteer type is sustained by patriotism 
and enthusiasm ; he represents the " People in Arms." 
Hs is often demonstrative, and seasons war's rude alarm 
with shouts and songs and noise galore. 

The Regular is restrained by his second nature. Disci- 
pline, from imitating his volunteer neighbor save in that 
cai}iaradcrie inseparable from soldier life, and when let 
loose in the phrenzy of the charge. At other times he is 
given to contemplation of prosaic things, like muster 
rolls, mules, clothing accounts, and the tendencies of cer- 
tain guard-house birds. Withal he is a model of endur- 
ance and obedience, and coolness under fire. 

Opposed to each other, these elements have brought 
about the collapse of empires ; united, they have 
cemented, for all time, the subdivisions of the greatest 
Republic of modern times. 

The sketcji which follows, happily illustrates this desir- 
able co-operation, and sets forth in some detail the sym- 
pathetic service of both elements, the brave deeds of a 
Regular told by his comrades of the Volunteers. 

Samuel N. Benjamin came of good Revolutionary 
stock, and after a careful home training was sent to the 
U. S. Military Academy at West Point, N. Y., from which 
he was graduated a Second Lieutenant May 6th, 1861, 
and was assigned to the Second United States Artillery. 

From the first, Benjamin seems to have attracted the 
attention of his superiors for devotion to duty and con- 



240 THE PATH OF DUTY. 

spicLious ability as tlie commander of a light battery — 
" the handsomest command in the Army " as it has been 
called. And to this he had been detailed, owing to the 
scarcity of trained artillerists at the outbreak of the 
war. 

His first service was at Bull Run, where he commanded 
a section, and was reported as having " displayed great 
coolness, energy and skill." Later on, he was working- 
like a beaver on the Peninsula, where, on. crutches, he 
fought his battery, and where the gallant Kearny, after 
inquiring whose battery continued to fire from such 
a perilous position, exclaimed, " It must be — for nobudy 
but Benjamin would remain in such a hell-hole I"" In 
reporting the operations of his command to the Chief of 
Artillery, Captain Carlisle, referring to " Garnett's 
Farm " and " Malvern Hill," says of Lieutenant Benjamin 
that : " It is unnecessary for me to recount his valor and 
untiring energ}^ from the dav the battery left Washing- 
t(3n ; and in the affairs of the last week he was alwa3-s 
present with the battery, directing and encouraging the 
men, although so entirely disabled as to be unable to 
stand without crutches, and could only be carried on a 
gun-carriage." 

" When General Reno was preparing to leave Fred- 
ericksburg, Lieutenant Benjamin learned, at the last 
hour, that it had been decided not to include his battery 
in that general's command, and he at once sought an 

* Remarks of Comrade L. C. Brackett, before Lafayette Post G. A. 
R., May 26th, 1886. 



yl HEAVY FIELD BATTERY. 



241 



interview with General Burnside, who stated that both 
Generals Reno and Stevens thought his twenty-pounders 
too far removed from a light battery to undertake forced 
marches, and perchance forced fighting while 'on the 
wing,' but that the matter was entirel}- in the hands of 
General Reno. The lieutenant at once appealed to that 
commander, who said that his battery was to have been 
assigned to General Stevens' Division, but that that officer 
felt, as did General Burnside and himself, that it might 
prove cumbersome ; but if General Stevens desired the 
- battery, well and good. Seeking the presence of Gen- 
eral Stevens, who already admired the spirit of the 
young officer, he was assured that nothing but the heav\^ 
guns presented their mutual wishes from being gratified, 
but, in face of objections raised, he could not take the 
responsibilit}'. 

" ' Suppose I should move out with your column ?' said 
the lieutenant. 

"'Then I should be obliged to take care of you,' 
replied the gallant Stevens. 

" General Stevens never regretted the hint contained 
in his reply to the zealous Benjamin. The march to 
Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan, to Kelly's Ford on the 
Rappahannock (crossings the enemy found covered by 
the able Reno), developed the fact that Benjamin and his 
brave lieutenants, Lord, Graves, and Kseffe, with their 
gallant men, could make a light battery of twenty- 
pounders.' And so it proved on all the marches to ■ 
August 29th, when, at Second Bull Run, to the enemy it 
proved a ' heavy field battery ' — so heavy, indeed, that 



242 



THE PATH OF DUTY 



the enemy found it necessary to concentrate the fire of 
two full six-gun batteries, and a section of another to 
prevent its destructive work. 

" I remember well this unequal duel when his battery 
of four twenty-pounders, supported b}- the gallant 
Roundheads, fought against such fearful odds. At times, 
as I glanced from our position, 1 could see neither men 
nor gun, so dense was the smoke from his firing, and 
from the enem^^'s bursting shells. 

" The battery having suffered heavil}' in killed and 
wounded, and one gun disabled beyond further use, 
General Stevens, feeling that the sacrifice would be too 
great if allowed to battle longer against the enemy's 
fourteen pieces, ordered its withdrawal for the time 
being. On engaging the foe. Lieutenant Benjamin 
parted company with one of his crutches, and before 
executing the order to retire, he buried from the eves of 
the enemy his crippled gun. 

" Lieutenant Benjamin's performance of duty through- 
out that campaign, and in the battles of South Mountain, 
Antietam, and Fredericksburg, won tor him the esteem 
and love of the officers and men of the Ninth Army 
Corps." [Comrade Brackett's remarks.] 

This tribute from the pen of one of the volunteer 
officers associated with Benjamin may be linked here 
with the testimony of the historian of the 79th N. Y. 
Volunteers. He "says : " We were joined at this time by 
Battery E. 2d LT. S. Artillery, under command of Lieut. 
S. N. Benjamin, a skillful ot^cer and perfect gentle- 
man, between whom and the Highlanders a mutual adrair-. 



FORT SAXDERS. 



243 



ation soon sprung up ^ ^ Whenever the Battery was 
short it was to us that Lieut. Benjamin came for help, and 
the boys always considered it an honor to serve under 
his orders. Passing over the faithful and important ser- 
vice of Benjamin's battery in Kentucky and Mississippi 
with the N"inth Corps, we bring the reader to Tennessee 
and the memorable Siege of Knoxville, where Benjamin, 
now Chief of Artillery, performed his most distinguished 
professional act. 

It was the twelfth day of the siege (Nov. 29, 1863), 
The enemy's infantry under Gen. McLaws had succeeded 
after a two days' struggle with our dismounted cavalry 
under Gen. Sanders, in finally pressing the Union troops 
back upon the earthworks in front of the city, hence- 
forth to be called Fort Sanders in memory of the gal- 
lant cavalryman who had given his life in order that the 
garrison might preparq. for Longstreet's final effort to take 
the citv. 

To Benjamin, still a lieutenant, was entrusted the 
honor of crossing swords with the famous Confederate. 

Prudent as he was valiant, our hero neglected no 
requisite precaution. In addition to the usual obsta- 
cles customarily placed in front of a threatened fortifi- 
cation, Benjamin had constructed a wire entanglement 
— telegraph wire strung from stump to stump, immedi- 
ately in front of Fort Sanders. The force to man this 
work consisted of detachments from the looth Pa., 79th 
N. Y., and a Michigan regiment — not over 300 men in all, 
including 80 artillerymen. 

From the History of the 79th N. Y. Volunteers (" the 



244 



THE PATH OF DUTY, 



Highlanders "), a regiment forming part of Benjamin's 
support, is taken the following : 

" Lieutenant Benjamin, in the absence of suitable 
hand-grenades, had prepared, some time before this, a 
number of t\vent3-pounder shells, to be used in case of 
an attack ; the fuses had been cut at twenty seconds, and 
would explode in a moment or two after they reached 
the bottom of the ditch. These shells had been laid in a 
row on the banquette tread at various points on the 
west and north fronts of the fort, ready for instant use. 
We often wished — as they were dangerous neighbors — 
that the " darned things " were somewhere else. The cot- 
ton bales had been placed on the parapet, about two feet 
from the interior crest, which afforded standing room 
for us to look over the bales ; that was a dangerous out- 
look, however, and we seldom attempted to take obser- 
vations during the day-time. Even on a clear night our 
heads could be seen against the sky, and the enemy's fire 
was frequently drawn. Now we ventured to take fre- 
quent peeps over the bales and through the embrasures, 
but nothing could be seen or heard of the enemy, after 
they had driven in our pickets. 

" We were obliged to remain in our places under arms 
all night. Ammunition boxes had bsen opened, and 
beside our free pouches, each man had as many car- 
tridges piled up on the parapet before him as he would 
be likely to need'. All the spare rifles that could be 
found were loaded, and nearly all our pieces were double 
shotted howitzers. In the northwest bastion they were 



THE ASSAULT. 



245 



double shotted with grape and canister, while " number 
four" stood with lanyard in hand ready to fire. ^ ^ ^ 

" Darkness had given place to the gray dawn, and we 
knew the enemy would not be long in making their 
appearance. ' Now bo3'S ! look sharp ! Do you see them?' 

' Yes, by ! There they come!' Instinctively one of 

our number levels his rifle to fire, but his hand is arrested 

by a comrade who remonstrates, ' You fool ! Don't 

draw their fire on us I' 'Now boys, into the fort as fast 
as your legs will carry you ! " De'il tak the hinmost," 
but look out for the wires !' it was a grand rush to the 
southwest angle. A number were tripped up by the 

entanglement. 'Long Andy' went down. 'D n 

the wires,' he exclaimed, but was up again in an instant. 
A single plank only spanned the ditch, and in the scram- 
ble two or three were thrown over. Just as we were 
crowding the plank, the roar of artillerv, volleys of mus- 
ketry and yells of the rebels broke upon our ears from 
the direction of the northwest bastion. Not a shot had 
been fired from the fort until the enemy were within fifty 
yards of the muzzles of our pieces. ' Hurry, boys ! To 
your posts !' We were soon there and found our com- 
rades actively engaged in repelling the assault. 

"The attacking party had reached the ditch before we 
gained our positions, and a scene was being enacted diffi- 
cult for pen to describe. The artillery, depressed to the 
lowest point, was hurling double and triple charo-es of 
canister into the masses of the enemy. Some of our men 
were firing over the cotton bales, and others through the 
embrazures occupied by the artillerv : still others were 



>46 



THE PATH OF DUT^. 



pouring a destructive tiank lire from their rifles,, and 
enfilading the ditch on both the north and west fronts. 
Both officers and men were shouting and encouraging 
each other. 'Give it to tliem, boys I Remember 
James Island ! Remember James Island !' The enemy, 
finding that the ditch barred their progress, seemed at 
fault. They crowded about the edge, and, hoping to 
escape the murderous fire of our artillery and rifles, 
many jumped into the ditch. Now was Benjamin's 
opportunity, and assisted by Captain Baird, who held a 
burning stick, the twenty pounder shells were ignited and 
rolled down among the living mass below. As they 
burst, yells, shrieks a^d groans attested the bloody 
work. Now the enemy's fire slackens, and we can see 
that many of them are hurrying to the rear. A cheer 
goes up from our throats, but is instantly answered by a 
chorus of yells from a fresh column of the enemy, who, 
nothing daunted by the repulse of their first line, now 
crowd up to the assault. The wires trip man}' and break 
their lines ; many fall to rise no more, but the living 
press forward.' 

"General Jones (Confederate Army) says: 'Just 
before the advance the weather had been detestable. 
On the 28th .; coid wave swept over the countr}-, and the 
temperature fell below the freezing point. The parapet 
was hard frozen, and a heavv ice crop was formed by the 
moisture from the bank, which prevented the men from 
obtaining a foothold.' 

" Soon after four o'clock McLaws rode along the lines 
giving final instructions and assigning staff officers to 



THE REPULSE. 24 J 

accompany the different commands. General Jones con- 
tinues : 'When the artillery fire ceased, the sharp- 
shooters opened and the two columns dashed forward to 
the assault. Then the Federal batteries opened and swept 
the orround in front. The abatis did not retard the 
advance an instant ; it was torn up and scattered by the 
living torrent. Many of the men tripped and fell over 
the wire entanglements, which caused some disturbance- 
of the front line. They gathered themselves for an 
instant, under a destructive fire, on the brink of a ditch 
from seven to eight feet deep, twelve feet wide and 
surmounted on the further side by a parapet from twelve 
to thirteen feet high, making a distance of about twenty 
feet in height to the crest of the parapet.' 

" They sprang into the ditch until it was filled with 
men, swept bv a deadly flank fire and triple charges of 
canister, and struggled with all their might to mount the 
parapet. In the absence of scaling ladders, the men 
mounted on the shoulders of their comrades to the top of 
the parapet. 

" General Jones states that a soldier seized a handful 
of wet clay and clapped it on the fuse of a shell that 
Lieutenant Benjamin had rolled over in the ditch, ' in 
the vain hope of extinguishing it, and held it there until 
the shell exploded and tore him to pieces.' Flesh and 
blood could not withstand the tempest of iron and lead 
that swept through the ditch and over the glacis. . 
It was plainly impracticable to enter the fort at that point. 
Those who could fell back, first suddenly and slowly ; 
then the column broke and fell back in confusion. 



248 



THE PATH OF DUTY. 



Those who could not escape surrendered." 

In a letter written by Benjamin in 1886, he says of the 
■assault of Fort Sanders: 

" The enemy in their charge entered the ditch at once, 
the wire threw down nearly, if not all of the front rank 
and most of the second, but there was such a mass of 
men that it was trodden down at once. 

" The enemy clambered up the parapet steadily, and 
were shot and bayoneted as they got on the top. A 
brigade of fiye strong regiments were in the first charge, 
and in about six minutes a second bjrigade of like 
strength arrived with a rush that seemed bound to carry 
all before it. They planted three regimental battle flags 
on the top of our parapet, which we captured. The 
assault lasted some ten to fifteen minutes. It was a close 
affair, for the}' were Longstreet's best- men, and had been 
put on their mettle to take the fort. 

" I threw shells with lighted fuse into the ditch. The 
ditch was so crowded with men that they could not get 
out of the way of the explosions, and they were mur- 
derous. 

" This raised the cry among them that their own bat- 
teries were firing on them. 

" I had no segar. I was smoking a pipe when the 
attack commenced, and smtViced it durinof the fio-ht, or 
until the tobacco gaye out. Lit the fuse from a brand 
from the fire. 

" In the actual assault seven men were killed in the fort 
and eight wounded. During the cannonade and the 



BENJAMIN'S TRIUMPH. 249 

assault some thirty more were killed and wounded in the 
immediate neighborhood of the fort. 

" We picked up and gave them 497 dead and badly 
wounded, within seventy yards of the fort, as we did not 
wish them to come close enough to inspect our works. I 
saw a great many dead and wounded on the ground be- 
yond our line, and think they must have lost 650 or 700, 
besides more than two hundred and fifty prisoners taken 
unhurt." 

The Commanding General reported of this brilliant 
action that, " To Benjamin's Battery, with such portions 
of Buckley's and Roemer's as were with them in the fort, 
the 79th Regiment N. Y. Vols., the 2d Regiment Mich. 
Vols., and a detachment of the 29th Regiment Mass Vols., 
is due the credit of repulsing a picked column of the 
enemy ; killing, wounding and taking prisoners there- 
from, treble their own number, besides capturing thi-ee 
stand of colors." 

Comrade Brackett in his address before Lafayette Post, 
from which we havealread}^ quoted, says: 

" No military student in the world can afford to pass 
over the lesson to be drawn fi-om the ability Lieutenant 
Benjamin displayed at Fort Sanders ; nor will he, for his 
attention will be riveted by the discrepancy in losses, to 
say nothing of speculation as to consequences, had Long- 
street succeeded. 

" Colonel (then Captain) Baird of the Seventy-ninth 
Highlanders, who held the burning brand for igniting 
the fuses of the shells that played such havoc in the ditch, 
recently said to me that it seemed but yesterday when 



2 50 ^^^ PATH OF DUTY, 

Lieutenant Benjamin, as he threw a shell, remarked in 
his quiet way, " There, I think that will cool them 
down." 

Once more at Spottsylvania in 1864, the gallant young 
artillerist was to make his mark as the Chief of Artillery 
of the Ninth Corps. 

" Only a first lieutenant, yet experienced artillery 
captains waived rank to serve under the accomplished 
officer, and eighty-four guns were ready to respond in 
thundering tones to his orders. From the 6th to the 12th 
of May, inclusive, the loss of our corps figured about 
fifty-five hundred, and among the wounded was our chief 
of artillery. 

"It was during the terrific struggle on the 12th, that the 
enemy's bullet pierced his neck. Riding to that portion 
of the field where he was directing and encouraging, I 
found him unmindful of self, though well aware of the 
dangerous character of his wound. My appeal to seek a 
surgeon was unheeded. A few minutes later I made a 
second appeal, but being again unheeded, and noticing 
that he was somewhat bewildered or growing faint from 
loss of blood, I seized the rein of his horse, and guiding 
it to the left and rear, a moment afterward placed him in 
charge of an artilleryman belonging to Twitchell's 7th 
Maine Battery. 

" Not long since, in this very hall, when questioned by 
some comrades concerning this episode, he replied that 
when I forced him from the field he was unable to see 
where the land and sky came together. It can be truth- 
fully said that though dangerously wounded and aware 



THE ROAD TO GLORY 



251 



of the fact, he remained at his post of duty until the crisis 
of that engagement had passed. 

" The great conflict was well nigh spent before the 
promotion of a single grade came to the subaltern who 
had many times performed the duty of a general officer. 
In July, 1864, he became a Captain, and subsequently 
received the well earned brevets of Major and Lieuten- 
ant Colonel U. S. A., ' for good conduct and gallant ser- 
vices.' Long after the War (1875), Colonel Benjamin 
was made an Assistant Adjutant General in the Regular 
Army. But the reward most highly prized was the Medal 
of Honor which was bestowed upon him for ' particu- 
larly distinguished service,' and as a fitting recognition 
of unblemished professional conduct in which unwavering 
devotion to duty shone out as the guiding star." 





CAPT. T. \V. GREIG. 
SIXTY-FIRST N. Y. INFANTRY. 

A HERO OF ANTIETAM. 

LAFAYETTE POST, 140, Department N. Y., Grand 
Army of the Republic, had assembled in its hand- 
some rooms in Union Square, some years after the War, 
to witness the presentation of the bronze medal for valor 
which a great government had awarded to one of its gal- 
lant defenders, Captain Theodore W. Greig, 6ist Regi- 
ment, New York Volunteers, the Adjutant of the Post. 

The Council Chamber was filled with men who " had 
smelt powder;" those who had led and those who had 
followed. By a natural result of the plan of this great 
military fraternity, war-time positions were reversed. 

Among the officers of the Post were men who had 
patiently borne the burden and heat of the day in the 
ranks, with blistered feet and emptv stomachs ; these 
now shared conspicuously with their former superiors 

2^2 



A PRESEXTATIOX. 253 

" the fruits of victory." On one side of the room, stand- 
ing modestly in the background— the rear rank of this 
veteran line now drawn up on parade— might be seen 
the erect form, strongly marked features and white hair 
of that corps commander, who, at Gettysburg, on the 
morning of the first day, did so much to repel the fierce 
Southern onslaught at the Cemeter}-, Near by stood one 
whose name had but recentlv been in all men's mouths, 
the soldier of science, the leader in a war with the 
elements, the returned Arctic explorer. With these, side 
by side, were comrades who had achieved civic honors, 
rulers of States, grave judges, successful advocates, great 
bankers, merchant princes, railroad kings ; these had all 
returned for the moment to the memories of the days oi 
' 61, when a knapsack, a canteen and a cartridge-box con- 
stituted their earthl}' possessions, and when their time 
was divided between fighting and foraging. 

One who has helped in some measure to preserve the 
history of the great American war medal, had been 
selected to hand the decoration to the gallant soldier 
who had won it. Impressed by the peculiar character of 
the assemblage — so eminently expressive of deeds rather 
than zuords — the comrade charged with this duty set 
forth, briefly but earnestl}', the purpose of the medal, and 
the distinguished service for which it had been awarded, 
and then pinned it to the veteran's breast. 

Captain Greig won his medal at Antietam. He was 
then a Lieutenant, commanding a company in the regi- 
ment already mentioned. His promotion had been 
gradual but deserved, from the day he enlisted in the 



254 



A HERO OF AXTIETAM. 



city of New York September 9, 1861, as a private sol- 
dier (at the age of eighteen), and afterwards through the 
various non-commissioned grades, until he reached a com- 
mission (July I, 1862). 

Young, ardent, and a stranger to fear ; naturally taking 
to the indescribable fascination of a soldier's life in the 
field ; ambitious to excel in the performance of his duties ; 
it is not strange that Private Greig early attracted the 
attention of his superiors, and falling into the tide of 
promotion which flows so swiftly in War, and so slug- 
gishly in Peace, was ultimately swept onward and 
upward to the single bar of a First Lieutenant, and the 
command due a Captain. 

The morning of the battle of Antietam broke upon 
two sleeping hosts, who would fain have taken a later 
breakfast had Mars been propitious. The flower of the 
Confederacy, under their famous chieftain, flushed with a 
second victory on a famous and now historic field, and 
eager for the flesh pots of Pennsylvania, and the loot of 
Philadelphia, confidently girded up their loins to press 
back the blue-coated Yankees. 

The old Army of the Potomac, once more under its 
idolized leader " Little Mac," his prestige increased by 
brief martyrdom within the defences of the Capital, rose 
calmly as was its wont, and shook itself as some monarch 
of the forest, who, disturbed by intruders, prepares to 
defend his home and family. 

The story of the bloody contest for supremacy which 
followed the rising of the sun on that lovely day in '62, 
is well known to most of those who may see this page and 



J HE GALLANT SLXTY-FIRST. 



255 



is not now repeated. Like two gladiators the grand 
armies rushed at each other, and strove and wrestled and 
fought like devils incarnate in a gigantic " tug of war." 
Hour after hour passed, and still the victory hung in the 
balance. 

The heaps of the slain grew larger, the little pools of 
blood formed rivulets, and these quickly foiind their 
several ways to the beautiful stream which separated the 
armies, and grew momentarily more red and swollen. 

It was high noon, and there was a lull in the cannonad- 
ing ; the musketry fire slackened, while the panting 
soldiers replenished their cartridge boxes or moistened 
their lips from hot and dust}^ canteens, filled with tepid, 
muddy water. 

The gallant Sixty-first New York had been in the 
thickest of the fight as their decimated ranks plainly 
attested. Lieutenant Greig had been foremost in each 
advance of the line, and last to retire from positions no 
longer tenable. 

His blood was at fever heat and he chafed at the tacit 
truce for which exhausted human nature, on both sides, 
seemed responsible. 

Out in front the gray lines extended in vague and 
ghostly semblance, their dingy gray or butternut uni- 
forms blending with the trampled and dust-covered sod 
upon which they were posted. Just in front of the Six- 
ty-first there seemed a speck of color which proved on 
closer view to be a Confederate battle flag. Greio- saw 
that it was planted firmly in the earth, as tempting and 
dangerous a sight as any false beacon that ever lured a 



256 ^i HERO OF ANTIETAM. 

ship to destruction. Its bearer, in mocking spirit, bad 
placed it a sbort distance in front of bis regiment — tbe 
Fourth Alabama — feeling sure that with a tl;ousand 
rifles at his back, bearing upon the path by which our 
enemy could reach it, the flag was out of danger. But 
he had " reckoned without his host." He made no allow- 
ance for the spirit that men call licroisin — that counts not 
the cost when lives are to be saved, battles won, or flags 
are to be captured. 

It was the work of an instant — the thought — the deed. 
With a wild rush over the short but deadly zone between 
the lines, the active boy reached the coveted trophy, 
seized the staff, threw it over his shoulder, tui-ned, and 
almost before the astonished Alabamians realized it, 
Greig was half way back to his starting point. An exult- 
ant cheer went up from the Union lines, and a rapid but 
irregular firing was begun by Greig's friends to 
cover his retreat. But the enemy, wild with chagrin at 
this bold and successful raid by a single Yankee, sent 
after him a perfect shower of leaden rain. The daring 
officer had almost reached the cover of the low stone 
fence behind which his men were sheltered, when a bul- 
let found its billet, and stretched him bleeding and insen- 
sible at their feet. The ball had entered the left side of 
his neck, narrowly escaping an artery. When Greig fell, 
he retained a firm hold of his nobly won trophy, so that 
it was with difficulty loosened from his grasp. 

After a long confinement in hospital, during Avhich 
a well earned promotion came to him. Captain Greig 
rejoined his regiment at Chancellorsville, and took part 



THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW:' 



-3/ 



in the bloody campaigns which followed — a veritable 
" valley of the shadow of death " through which our 
hero passed unscathed, and with a reputation of which 
grizzled veterans might be proud, was honorably mus- 
tered out of the service of the United States, October 
9th. 1864. 





TWO KINDS OF COURAGE. 

WHEN a veteran, whose shield, bent and bruised 
from honorable service, bears mute testimony 
to the scenes of dagger and death through which it has 
passed, calml}' tells us that he oiicc felt fear in the pres- 
ence of the enemy, we are slow to believe him ; particu- 
larly, if we are not of the warrior guild and unfamiliar 
with the various phases of military human nature. To 
such observers, the onh" type of hero is that which is 
insensible to fear. 

There are men who do not know what it is to be "ner- 
vous," never have the toothache, sleep soundly through 
the night on the " owl train," and can stand the extremes 
of temperature, hunger and thirst, without more emotion 
than an ox. This is an abnormal state of things, incon- 
sistent with a high order of intelligence or refinement. 
The true, knightl}^ nature, is no more like that of the 
burly animal mentioned, than is the temper of a Damas- 
cus blade that of a butcher's cleaver. 

The subject of this sketch, Joseph H. DeCastro, 
enlisted at the tender age of sixteen years and nine 

259 



26o TIVO KIXDS OF COURAGE. 

months, on August 12, 1861, in Co. 1, 19th Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry. He served faithfully and 
gallantly, in the ranks, through the privations and thirty- 
five of the battles of the Army of the Potomac, and was 
honorably mustered out of service July 3, 1865. 

At the Editor's request, DeCastro has furnished the 
following account of some incidents in his career. The 
words and the deeds they describe indicate that this 
soldier possesses both moral and physical courage — a 
combination not always found in brave men. 

" Possessed of a highly sensitive and nervous tempera- 
ment, my emotions when ordered into action, w^ere 
peculiar, to say the least. ' The spisit was willing but 
the flesh was weak.' It required moral determination of 
the most rigid character to set the machinery in motion 
which controlled the forward action of my almost par- 
alyzed limbs. 

" I was obliged to appeal to every sense of patriotism, 
honor and duty, and without doubt the fear of disgrace, 
coupled with a stray bullet in the rear, were the potent 
factions that decided the contest, so that I was enabled 
to keep ' the touch of elbows ' with my more cour- 
ageous comrades. 

" Surely, to the average reader, this confession must 
appear strange in connection with the record of a soldier 
who braved the terrible dangers of the ' Seven days' ' 
fighting on the Peninsula ; volunteered to cross the 
Rappahannock in the pontoon boats, in the face of the 
murderous fire from the Rebel sharpshooters on the 
Fredericksburg shore ; two days later climbed the hili 



"THE THIRD DAY." 26 1 

beyond the town, amid such terrific slaughter that the 
ground could only be compared to ' the shambles of the 
butcher ; ' at Gettysburg assisted in rolling back the tide 
of invasion ; and, at last, had the glorious privilege of 
being ' in at the death ' with the immortal Grant at 
Appomattox. 

" Early on the morning of Jul}' 3rd, I rolled out of my 
single blanket, to the music of the birds, and feasted my 
eyes on the beauties of a landscape unsurpassed, in 
my estimation, by any under the wide canopy of Heaven. 
Our regiment lay a few yards in the rear of Cushing's 
and Rorty's batteries on the highest point of the Ceme- 
tery Ridge, in a direct line from the famous " clump of 
trees." 

" The boys busied themselves wifh the preparations nec- 
essary in getting up what proved to be a very slim break- 
fast ; as I looked around me and saw the smooth-faced 
chaps all the way from seventeen to twenty-two, with a 
sprinkling of older men, some with bright, cheerful looks, 
others with that grim determined look that tells of stern 
dut}', iron discipline, and a high resolve to deserve well 
of their country on this or any other field, I could not 
but feel proud that my lot had been cast, in a militar)^ 
sense, among those who, from Ball's Bluff to the Peach 
Orchard of yesterday, had shown themselves soldiers 
worthy of undying fame. 

"As the scorching sun rose higher \n the heavens, 
we arranged our pieces of shelter-tents on the gun- 
stacks, to shut out as much as possible his too ardent rays, 



262 r/ro* KIXDS OF COURAGE. 

and stretched ourselves to enjoy as much confort as we 
could under the circumstances. 

" The combinations and strategy worked out at the 
General Headquarters, is a sealed book to the common 
soldier. He is but a part of the machine, a cog in the 
wheel as it were, of the vast and stupendous power that 
causes him to be moved and manipulated like the pieces 
on a chess-board, to ^vork out the designs of the master, 
' Thinking bayonets,' as we were termed. Yet we could 
not think out what that day had in store for us. So the 
long hours until one o'clock were passed, some changing 
while others conversed and speculated regarding the om- 
inous silence in the lines of the enem)-. Ten minutes past 
one the boom of a single gun in the direction of the Ceme- 
tery Ridge, its detonation hardly being noticed in our line. 
A moment later the ground shakes and trembles, the 
frightful roar of scores of deep-mouthed cannon, mounted 
on that grim ridge just across the fields of ripened wheat 
in our front, tells the story of the terrible carnage to 
come. The combined roar was deafening ; it seemed to 
benumb every sense, and now the deadly missiles seeking 
their range, work havoc in our ranks as we lay as close 
to mother earth as men are ever permitted to get outside 
the grave. A grim veteran of the Crimea on my right, 
shouts in my ear, "This beats the storming of the Redan, 
They are giving it to us with more than a hundred guns.' 
On m}^ left a young lieutenant presses me closelv. I 
turn towards him. and at that instant a fragment of shell 
tears through his head, and the warm life blood is 
sprinkled in my face. Our batteries are being served 



"FOR OLD MASSACHUSETTS:' 263 

with a bravery born of desperation. Caisson alter 
caisson is blown into the air, piece after piece is dis- 
mounted, and still the hell-born hail cuts and gashes and 
kills. This horrible carnival of death could only be 
fitly described by the pen of a Dante. 

" For two long hours, which seemed an eternity to us, 
this terrific hurricane of shot and shell pounded with 
resistless force, and then a calm. 

" We breathed again. A moment later a comrade says 
to me, ' Look there, Joe !' Away yonder across those 
lovely fields, at the base of that death-dealing ridge, 
from out the woods long lines of the South men were 
passing, marching as if on parade. Slowl}^, steadil}' they 
came, ranks well closed up, marching with a sublime 
courage worthy a better cause. Thev have crossed the 
Emmetsburg road, and re-formed their ranks with the 
utmost precision. 

" At this moment Gen. Hancock rides up to our regi- 
ment and directs the Colonel to hold us in readiness. 

" The batteries in our front have, just opened on those 
magnificent lines of gray, and the carnage in their ranks 
is fearful to contemplate ; it seemed almost like butchery, 
but on they came like a resistless torrent. The first line 
is among our batteries, and we get the word, ' Go in, boys, 
for the honor of old Massachusetts.' I took a firmer hold 
on the staff of the color I carried, and went in with the 
rest pell mell. The fighting was now hand to hand ; we 
were a confused mob that fought in the clumps of trees. 
I saw no less than eight regimental colors in a space 
that could be covered by one small battalion. In the 



264 r/rc* AVA'DS OF courage. 

impetuous rush that followed, we became a compact, 
struggling mass, all seeming to be bent on bloody work. 
Blue and Gre}' were inextricably mixed in all directions. 
I unfortunately became separated from my comrades, and 
while endeavoring to get back 1 had the good fortune to 
get in the first blow on a big rebel color-sergeant who 
attempted to down me. I struck him with m}- color 
staff, and as he dropped I seized his flag and rushed back 
into our lines, where I soon found my Colonel, to whom 
I turned over the captured flag." 

The Colonel (A. F. Devereux) writes:* "At that 
instant a man broke through my lines and thrust a 
rebel battle flag into m}- hands. He never said a word, 
and darted back. It was Corporal Joseph H. DeCastro, 
one of mv color-bearers. He had knocked down a 
color-bearer in the enemy's lines with the staff of the 
Massachusetts State colors, seized the falling flag and 
dashed with it to me." 

The method of this exploit deserves a passing com- 
ment. One is at a loss to decide which feature to admire 
the most, — whether the conversion of his own color 
staff into a weapon, the unselfish and soldierly impulse 
that led him to turn over his troph}' to his colonel, or the 
business-like silence in which the transfer was made — 
" He never said a word .^" 

For " Capture of flag 19th Va." at Gettysburg, Cor- 
poral DeCastro received the Medal of Honor at the 
hands of Major General George Meade. 



* " Some account of Pickett's charge at Gettysburg," Magazine of 
Am. History, July, 1887. 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 

NOTHING, with regard to the preparation to "put 
clown " the Great Rebellion, surprises the military 
student of to-day, so much, as the views of the Lincoln 
Administration, in 1861, upon the necessity for cavalry 
as a part of the Union forces. 

This detail of org-anization, Mr. Lincoln, harassed with 
larger cai^es, naturally left to his military advisers, Secre- 
tary Cameron and General Scott. The first named 
reflected the opinions, upon merely technical questions, of 
the venerable and distinguished commanding General. 
The latter, having achieved his professional successes, 
to a great extent, by the aid of infantry and artiller}-, 
realizing the expensive character of mounted troops, the 
scarcity in the North of men accustomed to the saddle, 
and, above all, the time required to make efficient cavalry 
from suitable raw material, was loth to sanction the 
acceptance of any mounted regiments in response to the 
first call for volunteers. 

This was made manifest to certain public spirited 
gentlemen who, in 1861, tried to overcome the objectic ns 

265 



266 ^ LIXCOLX CAVALRVMAX. 

of the military authorities. Scattered throughout the 
Eastern States, at the outbreak of the war, there were a 
few troops of militia cavalrj', more ornamental than use- 
ful ; most of these melted away in the process of the 
formation of infantry regiments to go to the front, or 
under the temptation for their members to become 
quartermasters, commissaries, aides de camp or even 
mounted orderlies. Some, however, preserved their 
independent organization, like the " Philadelphia City 
Troop ;" while here and there a local taste for horses, and 
the military fever of the hour, took the shape of new 
organizations burning to flash their sabres in the sun of 
another Austerlitz. Among these was the " Philadelphia 
Light Horse," composed of gallant young men from the 
neighborhood of Germantown, Pa., and commanded by 
William Rotch Wister, a brilliant young lawyer of Phila- 
delphia. About May i, 1861, they went into a camp of 
instruction at Chestnut Hill, a suburb of the Quaker 
City, and with an ex-dragoon (Mr. J. H. Stevenson) as 
an instructor, being good horsemen to start with, they 
made rapid progress in knowledge of the duties of 
cavalrymen in camp ; information which proved of 
inestimable value to a number of these gentlemen, who 
were subsequently commissioned, and, ultimately, ro.se to 
high rank. The entire expense of this preparation, of 
course, fell upon the patriotic youths who were burning 
to enter the service of their country — on horseback, if 
possible. 

About this time it was decided that the war was likely 
to last more than three months, and vojunteers were 



STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. 



iQj 



invited to enlist tor " three years or during tlie war." 
Very reluctantly, it would appear, the government 
decided to have oiit regiment of volunteer cavalry, and 
Colonel Carl Schurz was authorized to recruit for it 
with the proviso that the recruits must supply horses and 
equipments. He met with some success in New York 
and Philadelphia, with the aid of certain public-spirited 
gentlemen. Suddenly, Colonel Schurz was made min- 
ister to Spain, and the budding regiment was headless. 

The struggle for existence is well told by the historian 
of the regimen*:, from whose admirable chronicle* we 
shall make liberal quotations. 

The colonelcy was then offered to a regular officer, 
ndio accepted, pi'ovided the War Department would 
grant him a " kave of absence " for the purpose. Major 
Stevenson says : 

" Accordingly, he-f set out at once, armed with a letter 
from Colonel Schurz to the Hon. Montgomery Blair, 
then Postmaster General. On presenting his credentials, 
Mr, Blair accompanied him to the War Department, and 
introduced him to the Secretary, Hon. Simon Cameron. 
Mr. Cameron said he could do nothing in the matter 
without the approbation of the adjutant-general, or Gen- 
eral Scott, then commander-in-chief of the United States 
Army. Bailey could not get in to see the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral that day, so he repaired to the headquarters of Gen- 

*" History, First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry." — By J. H.Steven- 
son, Captain and Brevet-Major U. S. V., Harrisburg, 1879. 
t Lieut. Ezra H. Bailev. 



26G -i L/yCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 

eral Scott. The general was very busy, so Bailey waiteJ 

« 
till after otiBce hours, and" then went to his residence. 

When he attempted to enter, however, he was stopped 
b}' a sentinel; but the general, who happened to be at 
the window, beckoned to the sentry to let him pass. The 
general seemed to be in a bad hum jr ; did not believe in 
granting leave to voung officers of the regular army to 
command volunteer regiments, and didn't believe in vol- 
unteer cavalrv anyhow ; said it would cost half a million 
of dollars to mount and equip the regiment, and then it 
would take longer to get them ready for efficient service 
than it would to put down the Rebellion. (I) Bailey was 
much discouraged by this opinion, and left the august 
presence with hanging head and drooping spirits. The 
bright visions of a ' prancing steed ' and a ' vanquished 
foeman ' almost disappeared. The elegant uniform and 
clanging sabre, which alwaj's insures the smiles of the 
fair sex, where were they ? Bailey strolled moodily 
along for some distance, without aim or object, until he 
was aroused by the crowd in front of the White House, 
pressing in to see the renowned 'rail-splitter' from Illi- 
nois, then the Nation's honored President. He rallied 
his thoughts and joined the throng, in hopes of having an 
interview with ' Uncle Abe,' trusting vaguelv that some- 
thing advantageous to his mission would be the result. 

" He soon found himself in the ' Blue Chamber,' scan- 
ning the person of the President, watching the pla}- of 
his countenance, and listening to the original wa_y in 
which he disposed of many of his visitors ; among whom 
were grave senators, pseudo generals and queer-looking 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 269 

aspirants for military honors, contractors and pot-house 
politicians ; all having- an ' axe to grind.' By and by the 
President turned towards Bailey, and, with a smile, said : 
' Well, General, what can I do for you ?' Bailey was 
taken by surprise, but, collecting his wits, he smilingly 
replied : ' Not General yet, Mr. President, but hope to be 
if the war lasts long enough.' 

" Mr. Lincoln seemed to appreciate the ready rejoin- 
der, and said : ' I hope the war will not last long enough 
to make generals of all who aspire to that position.' 
Bailey then informed the President of his mission to 
Washington. Mr. Lincoln said he did not like to inter- 
fere in army matters, unless it was absolutely necessary, 
and recommended Bailey to call upon the Secretary of 
War or General Scott. Bailey informed him that he 
had seen General Scott, but had met with no encourage- 
ment, and that the Secretary of War would not listen to 
him at all. ' Oh !' said the President, ' it's the old story. 
You tried all other sources first, and then came to me as 
a last resort ?' ' Just so, Mr. President,' said Bailey, laugh- 
ingly, * and I hope I shall not have come in vain.' The 
President said, with a smile, ' I can't see why you should 
have so much difficulty about getting a colonel. Why, I 
could supply you with a hundred, from Illinois alone, 
inside of a week. Go back and tell Colonel Schurz to 
hurry up this regiment as soon as possible, and 1 will see 
that it is accepted.' Bailey set out for New York with a 
lighter heart, and, on arriving, reported the result of his 

mission. Captain O was disappointed, and so were 

the officers of the regiment, but recruiting went on. 



2/0 



A LI. \ COLS CAVALRVMAX. 



" General Phil. Kearney had lately arrived from 
Europe, and a committee of the officers waited upon him 
to see if they could prevail upon him to become their 
colonel ; but he was in some way pledged to the Gover- 
nor of New Jersey, who shortly afterwards commissioned 
him brigadier-general. When asked if he knew anv one 
whom he could recommend, he named Andrew T.. 
INIcReynolds, who had served with him as a captain of 
dragoons in the war with Mexico, and had been wounded 
there, and breveted major for gallantry. 

"A committee, composed of Colonel McRevnolds and 
Captain A. W. Adams, William H. Boyd and Joseph K. 
Stearns, was dispatched to Washington to procure the 
ratification of the above transfer. The Secretary of 
War intimated to the Committee that, as Col. Schurz 
had been provided for, there seemed no reason to organ- 
ize a volunteer cavalr}- regiment. Thev then sought 
the President. 

" Mr. Lincoln examined the papers, and endorsed them 
as follows: 

Hon. Sccretii}-}' of War : 

Please say to Colonel A. T. McReynolds, that when he will present the 
cavalry regiment according to the within authority, they will be received 
under him as they would have been under Colonel Schurz. 

(Signed) A. Lincoln. 

/7(ne I J, 1861. 

" Mr. Cameron said the committee must get the appro- 
val of General Scott, before they could get him to consent 
to the raising of volunteer cavalry. Captain Adams then 



NAMIXG THE REGIMEXT. 2/1 

set out to find the Commander-in-Chief. That officer 
was very bus}-, and it was hard to get an interview, but 
Adams had a friend at coui't, in the person of Schuyler 
Hamilton, who was a member of the General's staff, and 
through his influence the General sent a note of approval 
to the Secretary of War. 

" This note seemed to take Mr. Cameron by surprise, 
and he very reluctantly endorsed the papers as follows : 

Approved, on condition that the whole of the regiment be at Wash- 
ington, or wherever ordered to be, by the ist day of August next, and 
portions of it before the i 5th of July next, 

(Signed) Simon Cameron. 

Jitut' 15, 1 861. 

" He must have thought that these conditions would 
prove the overthrow of the whole scheme, and no doubt 
he laughed in his sleeve as he handed the papers to the 
committee. What a commentary this is upon the his- 
tory of the late civil war, which continued for four long 
vears, and in which, from time to time, we had three 
hundred regiments of volunteer cavalry, and three thousand 
regiments of volunteer infantr}*. 

" While at the War office a discussion arose as to what 
name the regiment should be known by, and Colonel 
McReynolds promptly proposed "THE LINCOLN 
CAVALRY," which was unanimously adopted by the 
committee ; all of whom thought the name appropriate, 
because Mr. Lincoln had called the regiment out, not- 
withstanding much opposition from those high in author- 



272 



A LINCOLN CAVALRY.\L'iN. 



ity around him. They thought also that the name 
would make the regiment popular and aid in recruiting, 

" When the President heard what the regiment had 
been named, he inquired who had ' christened the baby,' 
and when informed how it came about, he remarked that 
he was ' accused of being its father, and might as well 
own up.' He hoped, however, that the regiment would 
not consider the name as conferring honor upon it, but 
endeavor, by brave deeds, to confer honor upon the 
name; adding that he would watch its career with a 
great deal of solicitude." 

" The regiment reported for duty to General Franklin 
the day after the battle of Bull Run. Their first colli- 
sion with the enemy occurred during a reconnoissance 
made by Capt. Boyd's troop near Pohick Church, Va. 
Although the ' Lincolns ' retained possession ol the 
field, they lost one — Private Jacob Erwin — killed. It is 
claimed that he ' was the first cavalryntian killed in 
defense of the Union, and this tJic first charge made by 
volunteer cavalry in the war, on the Federal side.' " 

The regiment, although designated the " First N. Y. 
(Lincoln) Cavalry " was not, especiall}', representative of 
the Empire State, comprising companies from New York, 
Pennsylvania and Michigan, with a personnel of every 
nationality on the face of the globe, of which perhaps 
fifty per cent, were Americans. 

Passing over the service of this body of horse under 
McClellan on the Peninsula, Milroy in the Shenandoah 
Valley, and Meade in Pennsylvania, during which it made 
a reputation on both sides of the line for great efficiency- 



EDWIN F. SAVACOOL. 273 

in partisan warfare and invaluable service in procuring 
information of the enemy's movements, the Lincohi caval- 
rymen i-eturned to the Valley once more, to become a 
thorn in the side of the Confederacy. Major Stevenson 
sa3's of them in concluding his stirring record : 

" During their term of service they had marched thou- 
sands of miles ; had killed and wounded hundreds of the 
enemy ; and had captured about 4,000 prisoners, 3,000' 
horses, 400 wagons, 4 cannons, i,ooo muskets, 2,000 
revolvers and 700 sabres." 

Where all were brave it is difficult to pick out one 
deserving especial notice. Yet such an one there was, 
and one or two incidents in his career will serve to illus- 
trate the character of the service and the sort of mettle 
required from a *' Lincoln cavalryman." Againwe quote 
from the regimental history : 

" After being in the * valley ' awhile, our men became 
so familiar wnth every road and path that we dispensed 
with the citizens, and organized a band of scouts from 
the men of our regiment. We had a number of brave 
fellows to whom adventure and danger were a pleasant 
excitement, and we soon had a body of the best scouts 
in the army. The principal men among them were Sav- 
ACOOL, Atkins and Vosburg, of Company K; Peavy and 
Valentine, of Company B ; and Forkey, Dunn and the 
Goubleman brothers, of Company D. On one occasion 
a party of these men went clear down to North Carolina- 
They had plenty of Confederate money, which they pro- 
cured from Philadelphia, in sheets, for a trifling sum ; 
the words ' fac simile' printed at the bottom of each 



274 A LiyCOLX CAVALRYMAN. 

note, so that it could easily be cut off. This money was 
pronounced genuine by the cashier of the bank at Win- 
chester, and passed current ever}' where in Rebeldom. 
The boys always had plenty of poultry, eggs, butter, 
milk, etc., when on scout, without the trouble of taking 
them. They bought them, and were always welcomed 
by the inhabitants. 

" On the trip to North Carolina, the boys brought back 
a lot of fine horses and a negro whom they had pur- 
chased from his master for three thousand dollars ' fac 
simile' The poor darkey was astonished when he found 
himself in the camp of the Yankees, a free man. 

" Savacool went through the valley as a mail carrier, 
collecting letters at all the houses, and much information 
was obtained in this way. On one of his trips he met 
Gilmor's battalion, and could not hide, so he boldly faced 
the music. He had captured many of these men, and 
was afraid some of them would recognize him. Gilmor 
quizzed him closelv, but his suspicions were allayed by 
Savacool taking a letter from his pouch addressed to 
Gilmor himself. It was from a lady in Winchester, and 
he Avas so well pleased with the contents that he gave 
Savacool a pull at his canteen of apple-jack. He then 
informed Savacool that they were on their way to burn 
the bridere of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad over 
Back Creek. 

" Savacool had no sooner got away from them than he 
made a detour, and rode for Martinsburg with all haste 
to inform Colonel McReynolds of what he had heard. 
Captain R. G. Prendergast was immediately sent to 



BLA CKFORD S CAP TURK. 



275 



Back Creek Valley with one hundred men to look after 
the bridge-burners. Fifty of the men were from our 
regiment, and fifty from the Twelfth Pennsylvania Cav- 
alry under Captain Henry. 

" Prendergast, learning that the party were concealed 
in a piece of woods, disposed of his men so as to cut off 
retreat, and then charged into the ambush, capturing 
Captain Blackford and his lieutenant, and thirty men 
with all their arms, besides thirty-six horses with their 
equipments complete. 

" On our way up the Valle}^, Sergeant Edwin F. 
Savacool of Company K, of our regiment, was in the 
extreme advance, as he usually was, dressed in a full 
suit of Confederate gra}', and ' roped in ' several 
prisoners. 

" Between Berryville and Millwood he found a fine 
horse with full set of military equipments, tied to a fence, 
and his rider up a tree picking persimmons. He hailed 
the 'Johnny' and told him he had better get down, as 
the Yankees were coming up the road from Berryville. 

" The fellow showed great alacrity in descending from 
the tree, but when he attempted to get his horse, Sava- 
cool pointed his revolver at him and informed him that 
he was a prisoner. ' That's bad,' said the Johnn}^ 
heaving a sigh, and at once handed over his arms and 
accoutrements. Savacool turned his prisoner over to 
the first men who came up, and passed on ahead as 
before. 

" On arriving at the Shenandoah River, near Front 
Royal, he learned from a negro that young Baylor, of 



2/6 A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 

Mosby's gang-, was at his mother's house, on the point of 
land between the forks of the river, which meet at that 
place. It was known as Richards' Farm House, Mrs. 
Baylor having married Mr. Richards. As Savacool 
entered, with cocked revolver, the inmates were much 
surprised, as they thought he was a Confederate soldier, 
on account of his clothing. 

" While the old lady was talking to him, her son edged 
up and made a spring for his throat, at the same time 
grasping the pistol with one of his hands. Savacool 
pulled the trigger, causing the hammer to come down 
on Ba3'lor's thumb, and he let go his hold and jumped 
behind his mother. She then begged Savacool not to 
shoot him, which he promised not to do, provided he 
would quietly surrender. This Baylor agreed to do, and 
Savacool took a seat, pistol in hand, to await the arrival 
of our troops. 

" The old lady got up on a chair and began to rum- 
mage the shelves of a closet, and Savacool noticed her 
putting something behind her as she turned to get down. 
His suspicions were aroused, and he told her to show 
her hands. She did not obey, but kept backing towards 
her son, and Savacool told her to halt or he would blow 
her son's brains out. 

" She then burst into tears, and begged him not to kill 
them, as she produced a small revolver from behind her 
back. At that moment we rode up, and Baylor was 
■placed under guard ; his mother begging of us to treat 
him kindly. If I am not mistaken he slipped away from 
the guard that night at Strasburg, and made his escape. 



HE KNEW NO FEAR. 277 

" Edwin F. Savacool was, in many respects, one of 
the best, if not the very best soldier in our regiment. If 
any man ever possessed a ' heart that knew no fear,' 
that man was Savacool. His modesty was equal to his 
courage, and it was a long time before his merits were 
properly recognized. 

" He enlisted as a private in the first one hundred 
cavalry that left New York, and was transferred to the 
New York Lincoln Cavalry. He was promoted to a 
lieutenancy, in 1864, for his daring conduct in capturing, 
single-handed, the notorious Blackford, and for other 
daring deeds was soon promoted to a captaincy. He 
brought into camp, in two years and five months, single- 
handed, ji prisoners. Within five months he had five 
horses shot under him. On the day before he was 
wounded the horse, which he rode, received seven balls. 

" His services, and the severe wound he had just received 
won for him a commission ; and the colonel presented 
him with a costly pair of shoulder straps, in the presence 
of General McClellan, at our re-enlistment reception in 
New York, after overwhelming the poor fellow Avith 
praise, which confused and frightened him more than 
' grim-visaged war ' had ever done. 

" On another occasion, Sergeant Charles N. Warren, of 
Company K, and a man named Hogan, were in advance 
of the advance guard, dressed in Confederate gray. On 
entering Newtown they went into a house and inquired 
if any of their men (meaning Confederates) were in town. 
'What do you belong to?' said the lad)- of the house. 
*We belong to Gilmor's battalion,' was the reply. She 



278 ^ LiyCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 

then informed them that Captain Blackford and half a 
dozen of his men were around the corner, in ' Aunt 
Mary's,' getting supper. This was a little inn kept by 
a widow lady, who went by the above name. 

" On hearing this, Warren rode back to meet the 
column, and told Sergeant Savacool, who was that day 
in command of his company, and these two, accompanied 
by several others, set out at a gallop to look after Black- 
ford. (This is the same Blackford who was captured in 
Back Creek Valley with his company, in the previous 
September; but had escaped from Fort McHenry a short 
time afterwards.) 

" The approaching horses were heard b}- Blackford 
and his men, and they got out of the back door into the 
garden, and hid among the currant bushes. On entering 
the house Savacool inquired where Blackford and his 
men were, and ' Aunt Mary ' stoutly denied having seen 
them. 

" Savacool and his men then passed through the house 
into the garden, and began a search. The 'Johnnies' 
were concealed in the farther end ; but fearing discover}', 
they broke cover, jumped over the garden fence, and 
made for the pines. Our men gave chase, firing at them 
and commanding them to surrender. Blackford was on 
top of the fence, and shouted, ' I surrender,' and the 
soldiers advanced to take him ; but the moment they 
lowered their pistols he leaped from the fence and ran 
for his life. Warren had captured one of the Johnnies, 
and was taking him back to the house, while Savacool 
pursued Blackford, each firing at the other as rapidl}^ as 



BLA CKFORU S DEA TH. 



279 



thej could. At length Blackford was hit, and then he 
turned on his pursuer like a stag at bay. Savacool 
stopped also, and both took deliberate aim, each at the 
other. Both fired and both fell together. 

" Warren was just returning, after having delivered 
his prisoner, and on reaching Savacool he found he had 
been shot in the thigh, and seriously though not danger, 
ously wounded. Blackford called for help, and Warren 
ran to him and gave him a drink from his canteen ; but 
he was mortally wounded and died in a very few 
minutes. 

" B}^ this time many of our men had reached the scene 
of this fatal duel, and Blackford's bod}^ was carried up to 
' Aunt Mary's ' and laid upon the table from which he 
had eaten his supper about fifteen minutes before. Such 
is War." 

On the morning of April 6, 1865, Lee's columns were 
discovered at Sailor's Creek, on a road leading directly 
to Burk's Station, on the Danville Railroad, which point 
they still hoped to make ; but the Sixth Corps, under 
General Wright, was ready to dispute the wav, and a 
battle was begun by the enemy in order to force a pas- 
sage. 

At this battle Custer's division again covered itself 
with glory. The First New York (Lincoln) Cavahw were 
the first to enter the enemy's lines, and in so doing the 
brave and intrepid Captain Edwin F. Savacool was seri- 
ously wounded at the moment he snatched the first Con- 
federate battle flag from the hands of its bearer. 

Want of space prevents us from dwelling upon this 



28o 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 



soldier's service on this day, for which a Medal of Honor 
was conferred. Suffice it to say that as private, sergeant, 
lieutenant or captain, he had always done his whole 
duty. He was foremost in every action, inspiring his 
men with enthusiasm to follow where it was possible 
for soldiers to go. 

In his simplicity, manliness, and straightforwardness; 
in his discreet but fearless bravery, that won for him the 
admiration even of his enemies; in his large heart, with 
an intense hatred of the Rebellion, yet so full of gener- 
ous impulses and fervent love of country, we recognize 
the character of a true hero and patriot. 








FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 

KAC-SIMILE OF GOLD MEDAL (PAGE 2l8 



281 




SERGEANT GEORGE FOSTER ROBINSON, 
NOW MAJOR AND PAYMASTER I'. S. A. 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 



TO the schoolboy of i860, " the times that tried men's 
souls " meant the days of the American Revolution. 
The schoolboy of to-day learns that men's souls and bodies 
were sorely tried in a greater revolution, only twenty years 
ago, when blood was poured out like water to preserve the 
Union. 

The war closed with a tragedy, — the assassination of one 
of the greatest men and wisest rulers the world has ever 
seen. The enquiry into the circumstances of President 
Lincoln's death laid bare a foul conspiracy, which intended 
the destruction of the principal officers of our Government. 
The plot was only successful in one instance. Why it 
failed in another case may here be shown. 

In the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, there stood 

282 



A FAMOUS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



283 



in the City of Washington, not far from the White House, 
and on the eastern side of Lafayette Square, a plain, red- 
brick house. It had been a fashionable club house, but at 
the time mentioned it was the residence of the Secretary of 
State. The street was bordered by noble old trees, and 
although within a few yards of that famous thoroughfare, 
Pennsylvania Avenue, might almost have been a lane in the 
suburbs of some ancient provincial town, so prim and quiet 
and dull did it seem. Appearances were a trifle misleading 
as to its character. Over the well-swept cobble-stones had 
rolled the carriages of some of the noblest families of Eu- 
rope ; under the grateful shade had sauntered haughty 
dames and gallant cavaliers. Within these precincts there 
had been revelling and feasting and " flow of soul." But 
these times had fled. War, with wrinkled front, had come 
and changed the sights and sounds. 'The marching regi- 
ment had taken the place of the handsome equipage ; the 
clanking dragoon had succeeded to the languishing beau, 
and the martial notes of " We're coming, Father Abraham, 
a hundred thousand more," had supplanted the softer strains 
of Strauss and Verdi. 

As the war period drew near the end, the little street be- 
came less frequented, and at the time mentioned, was rather 
avoided by vehicles, for the famous dweller in the house 
was very ill ; he had been thrown from his carriage and se- 
riously injured. 

" Swear to be loyal to me, to stick to me through all, and 
I will give you more money than you ever dreamed of ! " 
After a pause came the answer in low but firm tones, '' / 



284 



FOILING AX ASSASSIN. 



swear ! " The speakers were two young men ; the time, 
February, 1865 ; the place, a room in the principal hotel of 
Baltimore. One of these men was tall and slender, with 
piercing eyes, and hair of raven hue. His dress was quiet 
in tone, but not in its first youth, and was worn with a care- 
less grace. His movements were quick and nervous, and 
a voice singularly melodious was one of his attractions. 
This man bore a name honored in his profession, albeit his 
place was not among the " stars." But he was known to 
the public as a bright and promising actor, and to many as a 
genial companion. Who would have thought that here was 
the material for a conspirator — nay, a leader of conspirators ? 
For this man was John Wilkes Booth. 

Strongly in contrast was his companion. Almost gigan- 
tic in stature, broad-shouldered, muscular, he was a mag- 
nificent animal. His low brow, fierce, restless eyes, square, 
massive jaws and deliberate movements, indicated qualities 
which, in the hands of an unscrupulous master, might be po- 
tent for evil. He was dressed in a motley assortment of 
clothes, half military, half civil, such as might have been 
selected at random in a cast-off clothing shop. His shoes 
were originally soldier's brogans, now worn to the welt, with 
the toes peeping through the uppers. A pair of faded light- 
blue trousers, torn and patched, frayed at the bottoms, and 
liberally bespattered with mud, covered his legs. Around 
his brawny chest was tightly drawn a dark-blue flannel shirt 
without collar, in lieu of which a red bandanna handkerchief 
was loosely knotted about his neck. A jacket of Confeder- 
ate-gray cloth, from which nearly all the buttons had dis- 



A QUEER CUSTOMER. 285 

appeared, and a brown hat, completed the costume of 
Booth's singular guest. 

At that time, in Baltimore, it was not unusual to see men 
in such incongruous garb; stragglers or deserters from the 
Confederate army or Southern refugees. It was war time, 
and ev-en the former dandy of his club, when on short leave, 
was glad to get into " cits " of a past date ; so that it was 
not wonderful that this tramp-like person should be per- 
mitted to pass the portals of a fashionable hotel without 
question, in the company of the well-known actor. 

This " queer customer " was a bit of drift-wood from the 
war waves. He was reared in Florida, upon a small planta- 
tion, and without the advantages of education. At eighteen 
he enlisted in the Confederate army, fought gallantly, it was 
said, and after much wild adventure had left the sinking 
Southern ship and wandered to Baltimore ; there, footsore, 
hungry, destitute and utterly friendless, he had stumbled 
across the actor. A long while before, he had once seen 
Booth upon the stage, in the velvet doublet and trunk 
hose of the days of Chivalry, in all the golden radiance of 
the footlights. His imagination had made the play real 
and the players noblemen, in every seqse. So, when he met 
his stage-hero in the streets of Baltimore, he ventured to 
accost him. 

A brief conversation impressed Booth with the belief that 
this man could be made a useful instrument in the evil pur- 
pose he had^ in view. He was right. He had found the 
unfortunate wretch who was soon to be known to the civil- 
ized world by the name of Lewis Payne. 



286 FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 

The fourteenth day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
five, was well-nigh spent. It lacked but three hours of mid- 
night, and the dimly lighted Washington streets were silent 
and almost deserted. It was the moment when theatre- 
goers begin to enjoy the play if it is good, or become bored 
and restless if it is otherwise. To the frequenters of Ford's 
Theatre there was, that evening, all the excitement of a 
" first night." The President and Mrs. Lincoln, with a 
couple of friends, were conspicuous in a box, thoroughly 
enjoying " Our American Cousin," which, under the au- 
spices of that (long ago) favorite, Laura Keene, had been 
having a successful run. Had none among that gay throng 
any presentiment of calamity? 

At that moment, two men were in earnest consultation in 
an obscure drinking-saloon in a side street, near the theatre. 
In one we recognize our dramatic acquaintance ; the other 
wears his hat pulled down over his eyes. On a table before 
them are a couple of glasses, half full of an amber-colored 
liquid. With the exception of the bartender, they are the 
sole occupants of the room. In his nervous way. Booth 
puts his hand on the other's shoulder and whispers, " Re- 
member, try the medicine dodge first ; but see him sure. As 
soon as it is done, meet me at the bridge. Now go ; it 
is nearly time." Both rose to their feet. Booth's compan- 
ion towered above him as they clasped hands — for the last 
time in their lives, although they knew it not. The motion 
threw open the long brown-and-white-check overcoat worn 
by the stranger, and disclosed a belt, buckled tightly about 
his waist, in which was thrust a large knife, and from an 



SERGEAAT IiOBnVSOA"S OPPORTUJS'ITY. 28/ 

open holster on the other side gleamed the silver-mounted 
handle of a revolver. 

A DESPERATE STRUGGLE. 

Within the domicile of the disabled Cabinet Minister all 
was quiet ; lights were turned low, and those persons not on 
duty prepared for bed. Mr. Frederick Seward (the Assist- 
ant-Secretary of State) was at his writing-table near his 
father's room. Major Augustus Seward was resting, pre- 
paratory to his regular watch, which would commence at 
midnight. 

In the sick-room the curtains were tightly drawn, and the 
shaded lamp cast a soft radiance upon the quaint furniture 
and the snow-white drapery of the couch upon which the 
invalid sought in vain the brief oblivion of sleep. The 
soldier-nurse, after a final glance at his charge, sank into 
the depths of an old-fashioned leathern arm-chair, and pick- 
ing up a book was about to open it, when he heard a ring at 
the bell. Sergeant Robinson was not a regular hospital 
nurse, but was himself barely convalescent from a severe 
wound received as a soldier of the Eighth Regiment of 
Maine Volunteer Infantry, at Bermuda Hundreds, Virginia, 
on the 20th of May, 1864. As soon as able, he was given 
light duty, and detailed to take care of Secretary Seward. 

The bell Avas answered by the colored boy, William. A 
laree man in a ligrht overcoat and slouch hat strode into the 
hall. He spoke hurriedly and roughly. 

" I want to see Mr. Seward. I have some medicine from 
Dr. Verdi." 



288 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 



"You can't see the Secretary; nobody 'lowed in his 
room," replied the faithful servant. 

" But I vmst see him, " said the stranger. 
William reflected that perhaps this was a messenger from 
the doctor, who might be allowed to see one of the family, 
to whom he would perhaps deliver his message. He moved 
towards the stairs leading to the second floor, closely fol- 
lowed by the stranger, who kept his right hand in his 
pocket. 

" Don't tread so heavy," 
said William, as the stranger's 
boots came down solidly on 
the polished wood of the stair- 
way. As they reached the 
first landing, Frederick Seward 
came forward. 

" 'Tis a messenger, sir, from 
the doctor. I told him he 
couldn't see the Secretary," 
said William. 

" Of course my father can see no one ; he is very ill." 
" I must see him ; the doctor said so," persisted the man. 
" But I tell you it is impossible," said the Assistant-Secre- 
tary. The man turned about as if to go down, and William 
went before him. Suddenly, with an exclamation — more 

like the growl of some wild beast — " You ! " the 

stranger struck Frederick Seward a terrible blow, which 
felled him to the floor ; again he brought down the butt of 
his pistol on the defenceless head with crushing force. 

At this moment the door of the sick-room opened and 




PAYNE, THE ASSASSIN. 



AA^ UNEQUAL STRUGGLE. 289 

Sergeant Robinson appeared. Before he could under- 
stand the situation, the assassin rushed at Robinson 
and struck at his throat with a knife. Robinson instinct- 
ively tried to ward off the blow, but received it upon his 
head and was knocked down. Bounding over Robinson, 
the would-be murderer rushed to the bed and began to 
strike wildly with his knife at the throat of the Secretary. 
Already he had cut the flesh from one cheek to the bone, 
and the blood flowed in torrents over the pillow. Then 
the courage and resolution of his New England forefathers 
came gloriously to the support of our Maine volunteer. 
Although just from the hospital, with his wounded leg not 
yet healed, and enfeebled from his year of suffering, he 
sprang to his feet, and without one moment's hesitation, 
without one moment's thought for himself, save, as he 
afterward said, the thought that he must die to save the 
Secretary ; without a weapon of any description, he op- 
posed his naked hands to the armed and desperate ruf^an. 
Robinson seized the assassin just as the deadly knife was 
about to be buried in the throat of the Secretary. Then 
commenced an uneq^ual struggle, in which the chances 
seemed entirely in favor of the herculean stranger. Robin- 
son succeeded, at the expense of two deep cuts down his 
back and two more under the left shoulder-blade, in drag- 
ging the villain from the bed, but vainly tried to protect 
himself from blows which were rained upon his head with 
the butt of the pistol. By this time, Major Seward, aroused 
from slumber, ran in and also seized the desperado, and 
although himself cut and bruised, with Robinson's help pre- 
vented another attack upon the Secretary, who lay gasping 



290 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 



and bleeding upon the floor, where he had fallen from his 
bed. 

And now, baffled in his dread purpose, and alarmed for 
his safety, the murderous intruder suddenly threw up his 
hands, exclaimed " I am mad ! I am mad ! " and rushed 
from the room. As he reached the threshold, he encoun- 
tered a State Department messenger and stabbed him also. 
It was but the work of a moment to throw his knife across 
the street, to jump, hatless, upon a horse standing at the 
door, and disappear in the darkness. William now ap- 
peared with re-enforcements from the military headquarters 
at the corner of the street. It was too late. Payne, — the 
instrument of a stronger mind, the blind tool of a fanatic, 
— had made good his escape. 

A HAPPY OMEN. 

It is unnecessary to dwell upon the events which fol- 
lowed : the excitement in the North over the murder of 
the President ; the pursuit, capture, trial, and conviction of 
the conspirators ; and the slow but sure recovery of the 
wounded Secretary and his son. 

The distinguished gallantry and fidelity of Sergeant 
George Foster Robinson were brought to the notice of Con- 
gress, and it was decreed that a gold medal should be struck, 
in commemoration of his exploit, and that in addition the 
sum of five thousand dollars should be presented to him. 
He was for some time a clerk in the office of the Quarter- 
master-General, at Washington, and in 1879 he was commis- 
sioned Major and Paymaster United States Army. 

The closing scenes of the Great Conspiracy were marked 



A HAPPY OMEN. 



291 



by some curious incidents. One of these, never before 
published, was told to the writer by an eye-witness, and 
seems a fitting conclusion to this story. 

It was late in the afternoon of the day upon which the 
murderer of Lincoln was captured, when an ambulance, 
drawn by four handsome mules, rattled along the road from 
Surrattsville, in Maryland, toward Washington, It con- 
tained Major-General Hancock and several officers of his 
stafT, Colonels Tompkins, Morgan, Mitchell, Wilson and 
Parker. In the confusion and terror which filled the minds 
of the friends of the Government, men turned with firm trust 
to Hancock, — next to Grant, — as a strong arm to lean upon ; 
and a sense of relief was felt throughout the land when the 
presence at the Capital of these dauntless, cool-headed 
soldiers became generally known. As the party journeyed 
along, they chatted of the stirring and bloody war scenes 
they had witnessed. The great calamity that had just be- 
fallen the country was, of course, the leading topic, and 
doubt was expressed by one or two as to its efTect upon 
the sections so lately estranged. The General, however, 
expressed his firm belief that nothing could prevent the re- 
establishment of " Peace within our borders." " The peo- 
ple have seen enough bloodshed ; they are tired of war and 
seek rest," said he. Just then. Colonel Tompkins, who was 
looking out over the landscape, and at the distant dome of 
the Capitol as it glowed in the warm tints of the setting 
sun, said to his neighbor, " Parker, do you see anything 
peculiar about the sun ? " 

That officer cast a careless glance in the desired quarter. 



292 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. . 



and then quickly called the General's attention to a curious 
sight. 

Within the blood-red disc, now very low on the horizon, 
could be plainly seen, surrounded by a luminous haze, the 
outlines of a pair of clasped hands ! All saw it, and for a 
moment there was an impressive silence. As the phantom 
shape slowly melted away, Hancock said very gravely and 
earnestly, " Gentlemen, that is a happy omen ; it is the 
sign of Friendship. May it come to pass throughout Our 
Country ! " 



THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 



PART SECOND. 

1 866-1 886. 

" O the dragoon bold, he scorns all care, 
As he goes around with his uncropped hair ; 
He spends no thought on the evil star 
That sent him away to tlie border war. 

" His form in the saddle he lightly throws, 
And on the moonlight scout he goes, 
And merrily trolls some old-time song 
As over the trail he bounds along. 

" O blithe is the life that a soldier leads 
When a lawless freedom marks his deeds ; 
And gay his path o'er the wildwood sod. 
Where a white man's foot hath never trod."' 



293 




CONFEDERATE COLORS CAPTURED AT SAILoR'S CREEK, VA., APR. 6, 1865- 

WITH PORTRAITS OF THE CAPTORS (CUSTER'S CAVALRY DIVISION), 

(from a tintype this size.) 



294 




BVT. LIEUT.-COLONEL TOM CUSTER, 
LATE CAPTAIN 7TH U. S. CAVALRY. 



A BEAU SABREUR.' 



I CAN NOT tell with what gratitude I embrace the op- 
portunity to add my tribute to the valor of one of the 
soldiers this book seeks to commemorate. 

Many a woman adds to the pang of bereavement, the 
sorrow of knowing that the grass has sprung up and faded, 
for over twenty years, on the graves of those who saved tO' 
us the unity of our beautiful land, and, alas ! who now lie 
forgotten. Will not, then, the hearts of many fill with 
thankfulness that the brave deeds of those that are gone 
are here given anew to their Country, and that a monu- 
ment is raised to their " loved and lost " more lasting than 
"storied urn or animated bust?" 

In New Rumley, Ohio, on March 15, 1845, Emanuel and 

* This chapter is from the pen of Mrs. George A. Custer. 



296 A BEAU SABREUR. 

Maria Custer received the gift of a son, the third tie that 
bound together still more closely their happy lives. The 
mother said in after years, even when pride for her success- 
ful boys filled her heart, that no time of her existence was 
so happy as when the door of the simple farm-house shut 
in, at dark, the little band about her. The war-drum burst 
in upon this contented home, and scattered her dear ones 
far and near. Her heart had grieved enough over the 
departure of her ambitious eldest, Armstrong,* who had 
implored his parents, four years before, to let him educate 
himself as a soldier. But after he had gone, she huddled 
the little curly-headed fellows that were left, more closely 
about her, and sang still, at her daily toil, for their comfort. 
In 1 861 peace departed from the hearth-stone. The two 
striplings began to beg to go to the war. They finally 
agreed to be content if one was permitted. Nevin offered 
himself, but was declined ; although not an invalid, he was 
delicate. Then Tom rushed to get his chance, but the 
father had privately conferred with the local recruiting 
oflficer, and Tom was refused as under age. At last nothing 
could keep him. He sought another of^cer and was ac- 
cepted ; at sixteen he kissed the weeping mother and little 
sister Margaret, and was off to the wars as a private soldier. 
It was all the father could do to keep the fourteen-year- 
old boy, Boston, from going. Yet I hardly think the 
parent blamed the sons. He was, from his own boyhood, 
fond of "training-days," and had put his eldest son, Arm- 
strong, into a uniform when he was but a midget of four, 
and chuckled and admired the piping voice of the minia- 

* The late General George Armstrong Custer, U. S. A. 



"OUR TOM." 297 

ture soldier when he called out a line from the schoolboy's 
elocution, that was practised in the home audience — " My 
Voice is for War." 

The boy Tom was sent to the Western army, and soon 
selected as orderly for General Negley. When I saw this 
officer, a year ago, he went back over twenty years and told 
me what a splendid soldier he had found our Tom. The 
praise one brave man gives another, irrespective of station, 
shone from his eyes, while he bore testimony in unstinted 
words to the courage and fidelity of the lad. In 1863, my 
husband was made a general officer, and found his oppor- 
tunity not only to send for his old school-mates and offer 
them places on his staff, but he began to plan for his 
brother to be transferred from the West to the Army of 
the Potomac. He obtained for him a commission as Lieu- 
tenant in the 6th Michigan Cavalry, and not long after our 
marriage, in 1864, Tom found us in Virginia and became our 
boy. The amount of mothering and petty tyranny I exer- 
cised was not in proportion to my years, but he submitted 
to it all as only brave and big-souled men can do when as- 
sured of sincere, disinterested affection. His manners and 
self-culture became a serious study with him. He not only to 
aimed to be a perfect soldier, but he was determined to take 
up his studies, interrupted by his early enlistment. Even 
in those busy times he bought himself school-books, and 
pored over them with patience in the evenings. He 
seemed to have come through unscathed by the coarseness 
of his surroundings as an enlisted man ; for though the best 
blood of our land was often in the ranks, there was a large 
element of lawlessness, beside, among the soldiers. 
15 



298 A BEAU SABREUR. 



THE YOUNG AIDE-DE-CAMP. 



As soon as Tom was made aide-de-camp he followed his 
intrepid brother in charges, and was entrusted with the car- 
rying of important despatches and orders, which involved 
caution in traversing the enemy's country, and reliance upon 
his own judgment. He was invariably selected for the 
hardest work. If, after a tumultuous day, the General and 
his staff threw themselves down around the camp-fire to 
sleep and were awakened by the news that required one of 
them to saddle and start off for night duty, Tom was the 
one selected. I never heard that he even looked a mur- 
mur. I only know that I agreed with the staff when they 
used to say, " If any one thinks it is a soft thing to be a 
commanding officer's brother, he misses his guess." If I 
ever attempted to put in a protest for the nineteen-year- 
old boy, my husband argued with me that he must watch 
himself ; that he never made the slightest difference in disci- 
pline because Tom happened to be his brother. If the lad 
came in our room to report officially, the General received 
the Lieutenant in the most formal manner, but the moment 
the business was finished, Tom flung aside his sword and 
the two fell to scuffling, just as they used to in their merry 
boyhood days on the old farm in Ohio. 

Tom said little about his determination to try for medals, 
but he was just as eager for another, as ever, when he had 
taken his first flag at Namozine Church, April 2, 1S65. 
Beside this, he was inspired to try again, as he found his 
brother, after whom he had modelled his life, was so proud 
of his achievement. General Custer had taken the first 



A T SAILOR 'S CREEK. 



299 



Confederate colors of the war while serving as aide-de- 
camp on General McClellan's staff, in 1862. 

General Capehart, who commanded the Third Brigade of 
the Third Division, saw Tom take his second flag at Sailor's 
Creek, April 6, 1865. I quote from a recent letter he has 
kindly sent me regarding that day : " I saw your brother 
capture his second flag. It was in a charge made by my 
Brigade at Sailor's Creek, Virginia, against General Ewell's 
Corps. Having crossed the line of temporary works on 
the flank of the road, we were confronted by a supporting 
battle-line. It was from the second line that he wrested 
the colors, single-handed, and only a few paces to my right. 
As he approached the colors he received a shot in the face 
which knocked him back on his horse, but in a moment he 
was again upright in his saddle. Reaching out his right 
arm, he grasped the flag while the color-bearer reeled. 
The bullet from Tom's revolver must have pierced him in 
the region of the heart. As he was falling, Captain Custer 
wrenched the standard from his grasp and bore it away in 
triumph. For intrepidity I never saw this incident sur- 
passed." 

Major Farnham Lyon, who was a staff officer of General 
Custer's at that time, has written me that he recalls Tom's 
charge over the rifle pits at Sailor's Creek, and his being 
wounded in the cheek. " I know I felt at the time," he 
adds, " that it was a great wonder he escaped with his 
life." General Whitaker, General Custer's chief of staff, 
bears testimony in a recent letter that " Tom, on that day, 
fought like a lion." 



300 



A BEAU SABREUR. 



A BATTLE-FLAG HARVEST. 



Major Allstrom of the 3d New Jersey Cavalry describes 
to me the viclc'c in which General Custer's Division found 
themselves after the capture of nearly six miles of Con- 
federate trains ; also artillery and thirty-seven battle-flags. 
The confusion was great, and while the firing was still at 
its height, he saw our brother Tom dashing past him, his 
face streaming with blood from the wound he had received. 
The flag he had captured was flying out from the standard 
he still grasped. The Major, terrified at Tom's temerity in 
making himself so prominent an object for the enemy's 
sharpshooters, called out to him, saying, " For God's sake, 
Tom, furl that flag or they'll fire on you." Major Allstrom 
has in his possession a tintype,* taken by a camp photog- 
rapher twenty-one years ago, of two rows of officers and 
soldiers, holding in their hands the lances bearing the thirty- 
seven battle-flags captured that day. The men are in 
rough campaigning dress, their weather-beaten faces partly 
covered with all sorts of slouched hats, but above their 
brave heads is a line of tattered bunting that had but the 
day before led out the valiant South to the last desperate 
struggle of their waning cause. Major Allstrom stands 
in the front row with his captured colors. On the end 
of the line, our Tom, holding a standard in each hand. 
The thirty-six men were sent up to Washington to present 
in person their flags, and receive the recognition Congress 
made of their valor. I was in the Capitol at the time of 

* This is the original of the engraving which faces the opening of this chapter. 



TVE GOT MY FLA Cr 



301 



their arrival, wearily waiting for the war to close. The 
first knowledge I had that the colors were taken was the 
sight of a street-car filled with soldiers,' and with flags 
streaming from every window as the horses were urged 
rapidly to the War Department. The street gamins fol- 
lowing, called out, " Hurrah for Custer's soldiers and their 
f^ags! " That was enough for me. I instantly joined the 
crowd on the walk and followed. On giving my name at 
Secretary Stanton's door, he admitted me, and as each 
soldier presented his flag, I was introduced to him as the 
wife of their commander by Senator Harris, of New York. 
It was a very memorable day in my life, as well as in that 
of the dauntless men who had won distinction. 

My husband described to me, as soon as I saw him, 
some of the circumstances of Tom's wound. He was 
deeply moved as he talked. He said his first knowledge 
that his brother was shot was seeing Tom dashing tow- 
ard him, covered with blood. The ball had entered his 
cheek and passed out behind his ear. Only a short time 
before, a favorite color-bearer, whom my husband valued 
very highly, had been wounded in the face, and the 
bullet severed the jugular vein. He reeled in the saddle, 
and was dead almost instantly. The General, seeing Tom 
similarly wounded, was terribly startled, and expected that 
in a moment more the boy would totter in his saddle and 
his life ebb away. As he reached him, Tom called out, 
" Armstrong, the d — d rebels have shot me, but I've got 
my flag," and instantly set spurs to his horse to charge again. 
The General checked him, and told him to go to the rear 
and have his wound dressed. Evidently there was a trem- 



302 



A BEAU SABREUR. 



ble in the elder brother's voice, and the younger was em- 
boldened to disregard the direction. He was so full of 
fight no ordinary request checked him. Then the com- 
manding officer's tone was assumed, and my husband, see- 
ing the necessity of instant obedience, ordered him in arrest 
and to the rear. Poor Tom, hearing the order, which is 
the extreme resort of military discipline, had nothing to do 
but to report to a surgeon. 

We both felt immense pride in his valiant deed, and the 
black patch, planted in the midst of a very new and downy 
beard, was an ornament in our eyes for all the time it 
covered his wound. I remember that my husband was so 
proud of Tom's medals that he showed them to a general 
ofHcer, who was our guest just before the campaign in Da- 
kota, in 1876. The officer was surprised to find Colonel 
Tom had two, and told my husband, if he had his choice, he 
would rather have a medal for a flag than any brevet that 
was ever given. 

" OUR TOM " OX THE FRONTIER. 

In 1866, Colonel Tom received an appointment as lieu- 
tenant to his brother's regiment, the Seventh Regular Cav- 
alry. He reported for duty at Fort Riley, Kansas, and was 
received into our household as one of our family. From 
that time on, he was in all the campaigns and engagements 
of the regiment. It was an immense change to come down 
from the position ojf aide-de-camp on the staff of the com- 
mander, of a division of thousands of cavalry, to the simple 
humdrum of a lieutenant of a company. It was a great 
test of the true metal of a man to adapt himself to the po- 



ON THE FRONTIER. 



303 



sition of a subaltern, after the independent and important 
duties with which he had so long been entrusted in the 
exciting scenes of the war. Tom's character bore this test. 
He was as conscientious and simple-hearted in the dis- 
charge of his company duty as if he had never known any 
other than that life. His brother, though never relaxing 
the strictness of discipline, continued to place more and 
more important trusts in Tom's hands, and proved, as years 
advanced, that his judgment and soldierly abilities stood 
uppermost in his mind, even among the tried and true of 
the Seventh Cavalry. In 1874, while the regiment was 
stationed at Fort Lincoln, Dakota, it became necessary to 
attempt the capture of a noted Indian murderer, Rain-in-the- 
Face. Captain Yates and Colonel Tom were selected to ^o 
to a post below us on the Missouri River, and secure the 
Indian as a prisoner. The story of the capture which fol- 
lows has already been told by me.* 

" RAIN-IN-THE-FACE " AND HIS REVENGE. 

" In order, then, to deceive as to the purport of their ap- 
pearance at the Agency, the captain in command resorted to 
a ruse. He sent fifty men to the camp, ten miles away, to 
make inquiries for three Indians who had murdered citizens 
on the Red River the year before. Colonel Custer was or- 
dered to take five picked men and go to the trader's store, 
where the Indians resort constantly. This required great 
coolness and extreme patience, for they had to lounge 
about, seemingly indifTerent, until they were certain the 



* " Boots and Saddles," by Mrs. Custer. New York . Harper Bros. 



304 



A BEAU SABKEUR. 



right man was discovered. The cold made the Indians 
draw their blankets around them and over their heads. 
There is never any individuality about their dress, unless 
when arrayed for a council or dance ; it was therefore 
almost impossible to tell one from the other. 

" Colonel Tom had to wait for hours, only looking fur- 
tively when the sharp eyes of these wary creatures were off 

guard. At last one of them 
loosened his blanket, and 
with the meagre descrip- 
tion that had been given 
him. Colonel Tom identified 
him as Rain -in - the - Face. 
Coming suddenly from be- 
hind, he threw his arms 
about him, and seized the 
Winchester rifle that the 
savage attempted to cock. 
He was taken entirely by 
surprise. No fear showed 
itself, but from the char- 
acteristically stolid face 
hate and revenge flashed out for an instant. He drew him- 
self up in an independent manner, to show his brother 
warriors that he did not dread death. 

"Among them he had been considered brave beyond pre- 
cedent, because he had dared to enter the Agency store at 
all, and so encounter the risk of arrest. The soldiers tied 
his hands and mounted guard over him. About thirty 
Indians surrounded them instantly, and one old orator com- 




RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 



'■ ^A m-hV- THE-FA CE. ^C ; 

menced an harangue to the others, inciting them to recap- 
ture their brother. Breathless excitement prevailed. At 
that moment the captain in command appeared in their 
midst. With the same coolness he had shown in the war, 
and during the six years of his Indian campaigns, he spoke 
to them, through an interpreter. With prudence and tact 
he explained to them that they intended to give the prisoner 
exactly the treatment a white man would receive under 
like circumstances ; that nothing would induce them to- 
give him up ; and the better plan, to save bloodshed, would' 
be for the chiefs to withdraw and take with them their 
followers. Seeing that they could accomplish nothing by 
intimidation or by superior numbers, they had recourse to 
parley and proposed to compromise. They offered as a 
sacrifice two Indians, of the tribe, in exchange for Rain- 
in-the-Face. 

*' It was generosity like that of Artemus Ward, who of- 
fered his wife's relatives on the altar of his country, for 
they took care not to offer for sacrifice any but Indians of 
low rank. Rain-in-the-Face was a very distinguished warrior 
among them, and belonged to a family of six brothers, one 
of whom. Iron Horse, was very influential. The officers 
prevailed in the end, and the prisoner was taken to the 
cavalry camp. During the time that the Indians were op- 
posing his removal, the troopers had assembled around the 
entrance, ready for any emergency, and prepared to escort 
the murderer away. The Indians instantly vanished ; all 
went quickly and quietly to their camp, ten miles distant. 
Later in the day, a party of fifty mounted warriors dashed 
through the Agency to the road beyond, which had to be 



3o6 A BEA I ' SA BRE UR. 

taken by our troopers on the way home. Of course our 
officers expected an attack from that party when they be- 
gan their homeward march ; to their surprise, they were 
unmolested. We learned afterwards that the mounted In- 
dians went to the camp of Two Bears to urge the young 
braves there to combine with them in the recapture of 
Rain-in-the-Face. Two Bears had long been friendly to 
the white man ; he was too old to fight, and prevented 
his young men from joining in the contemplated rescue. 

" After the command had returned, and the officers had 
reported, General Custer sent for Rain-in-the-Face. He 
was tall, straight, and young. His face was quite im- 
perturbable. In a subsequent interview the General 
locked himself in his room with him. Through an in- 
terpreter, and with every clever question and infinite pa- 
tience, he spent hours in trying to induce the Indian 
to acknowledge his crime. The culprit's face finally 
lost its impervious look, and he showed some agitation. 
He gave a brief account of the murder, and the next day 
rnade a full confession before all the officers. He said 
neither of the white men was armed when attacked. He 
had shot the old man, but he did not die instantly, rid- 
ing a short distance before falling from his horse. He then 
went to him, and with his stone mallet beat out the last 
breath left. Before leaving him he shot his body full of 
arrows. The younger man signalled to them from among 
the bushes, and they knew that the manner in which he 
held up his hand was an overture of peace. When he 
reached him the white man gave him his hat as another 
and further petition for mercy, but he shot him at once, 



A A" INDIAiX MURDERER. 



307 



first with his gun and then with arrows. One of the latter 
entering his back, the dying man struggled to pull it 
through. Neither man was scalped, as the elder was bald 
and the younger had closely cropped hair. 

" This cruel story set the blood of the officers flowing 
hotly. They had already heard from one of the white 
scouts a description of Rain-in-the-Face at a sun-dance, 
when he had betrayed himself as the murderer of the vet- 
erinary surgeon, by describing in triumph his beating 
out the brains of the old man with his mallet. After all 
this, it is not to be wondered at that each ofificer strode out 
of the room with blazing" eyes." 

Two Indians, one of them Iron-Horse, had followed the 
cavalry up from the Agency, and asked to see their comrade. 
The General sent again for Rain-in-the-Face. He came into 
the room with clanking chains and with the guard at his 
heels. He was dressed in mourning. His leggings were 
black, and his sable blanket was belted by a band of white 
beads. One black feather stood erect on his head. Iron- 
Horse supposed that he was to be hung at once, and that 
this would be the final interview. The elder brother, be- 
lieving there was no hope, was very solemn. He removed 
his heavily-beaded and embroidered buffalo robe, and re- 
placed it with the plain one that Rain-in-the-Face wore. 
He exchanged pipes also, giving him his highly orna- 
mented one that he afterwards presented to the General. 
These pipes are valuable, as the material of which the 
bowls are made has to be brought from Kansas. Then, 
finding that there was a prospect of Rain-in-the-Face having 
his trial in Washington, he took off the medal that had 



2o8 A BEAU SABREUR. 

been given to his father by a former President, whose like- 
ness was in the medalHon, and placed it over the neck ot 
his brother, that it might be a silent argument in his favor 
when he confronted the " Great Father." 

After his two friends had left him, Rain-in-the-Face occu- 
pied part of the guard-house with a citizen, who had been 
caught stealing grain from the store-house. For several 
months they had been chained together, and used to walk 
in front of the little prison for exercise and air. The 
guard-house was a poorly-built, insecure wooden building. 
After a time the sentinels became less vigilant, and the 
citizen, with help from his friends outside, who were work- 
ing the same way, cut a hole in the wall at night and es- 
caped. He broke the chain attaching him to the Indian, 
who was left free to follow. We found afterwards that 
Rain-in-the-Face did not dare to return to the reservation, 
but made his way to the hostile camp. In the Spring of 
1874 he sent word from there by an Agency Indian that 
he had joined Sitting Bull, and was awaiting his revenge 
for his imprisonment. 

In June, 1876, the Seventh Cavalry, unaware of the fact 
that eleven thousand Indians were encamped on and in 
the vicinity of the Little Big Horn, attacked a village, were 
overpowered with numbers, and Colonel Tom fell beside 
his dearly loved brother. Rain-in-the-Face, who was in the 
fight, sought out our brave brother and wreaked his savage 
vengeance on the dead body of one against whom he had 
so long treasured up an injury. The vengeance of thaf in- 
carnate fiend was concentrated on the man who had ef- 
fected his capture. It was found on the battlefield that 



A MORTAL ENEMY. 



309 



he had cut out the brave heart of that gallant, loyal 
and lovable man, our brother Tom ! 

So perished a gallant, noble, tender-hearted soldier, — a 
devoted son, a faithful, affectionate brother, a loyal friend. 

I cannot end this account of our chivalrous brother with- 
out the brief testimony my husband gave of his apprecia- 
tion of Tom. Just before the last and fatal campaign, a 
woman friend of ours in the East, said, " Well, General, 
what of Tom ? " 

" If you want to know what I think of him, all I can say 
is, Tom ought to be the General and I the Captain.'' 





3IO 




" RED CLOUD." 



RED CLOUD'S " BAPTISM OF FIRE." 



WHEN the Emperor of the French, at the opening 
of the war, in 1870, which cost him an empire, dic- 
tated a dramatic despatch containing the words quoted at 
the head of this chapter the cold world laughed in its 
sleeve. 

When the Indian chieftain, " Red Cloud," at the head of 
thousands of brave warriors, flung himself upon a handful 
of white men — outnumbered a hundred to one — and finally 
withdrew, baffled, awe-struck, and bleeding, before the 
deadly volleys from the newly-invented breech-loader, he 
might, truthfully, have said to his people, " We have had 
our baptism of fire ! " 

This affair took place in the Summer of 1867, near Fort 
Phil. Kearney, D. T. It was a modern tournament between 

311 



312 



RED CLOUnS ''BAPTISM OF FIRE. 



the representatives of civilization and barbarism — science 
and superstition. 

The leaders were admirable types of their respective races. 

Red Cloud was a Sioux of moderate rank but immod- 
erate ambition. When the Government of the United 
States sought to obtain the consent of the Sioux to run a 
road through their country to Montana, Red Cloud refused 
to sign the treaty, and placing himself at the head of a large 
force of Sioux and Cheyennes, prepared to resist what 
they deemed invasion. Burning with a desire for distinc- 
tion and accessions to his band, he laid in wait near the fort 
.already mentioned. 

His opportunity came ; one day, when a little party of 
regular infantry — fifty-one men and two of^cers — marched 
out from the shelter of Fort Phil. Kearney into the 
country to protect a " wood party," which, under the 
eye of a contractor, was cutting fuel for the use of the 
garrison. 

The commander of the detachment was Brevet Major 
James Powell, Captain 27th Infantry, an officer of more 
than twenty years' experience, in all grades, from private 
to captain. He was still suffering from the effects of 
wounds received in Georgia during the war, where he had 
won two brevets " for gallant and meritorious services." 

Powell found that the contractor had two encampments 
of wood-choppers ; one of these was in the centre of a small 
plain, fairly adapted to purposes of defence and for grazing 
the animals ; the other, a mile distant, on the other side of 
Little Piney Creek, near the foot of the mountains. Part of 
the soldiers were detailed to protect the working parties 



COLONEL JAMES POWELL. 



31. 



and to escort the wood trains on their trips to and from 
the fort. 

Major Powell wisely determined to make the position on 
the plain as strong for defence as possible. 

A number of wagons, sometimes called " Prairie Schoon- 
ers," with high bodies or " beds," had been sent out to haul 
the wood. For this purpose the running gear alone was 
used. 

The beds became of unexpected importance. They 
were laid on the ground, 
end to end, forming a 
wooden fort, oval in 
shape — thus : 3^1:. At 
the point on each side of 
this little plan there was 
one of the wagons on 
ivhccls, which contained 
supplies for the use of the 
troops — such as blankets, 
ammunition and tents. 
There were fourteen 
empty wagon-beds, and 
in the wooden sides of each, holes were bored about 
eighteen inches from the bottom, large enough to admit 
the barrel of a rifle. Between the wagons the spaces were 
filled with any loose material likely to stop a bullet, such 
as sacks of forage, ox-bows, chains and short logs. 
THE ATTACK. 

Major Powell, having made his preparations for defence, 
calmly awaited the attack. 
16 




BVT. LIEUT.-COLONEL JAMES POWELL, 
CAPTAIN U. S. ARMY. 



3 14 RED-CLOUD'S " BAPTISM OF FIRE." 

"About nine o'clock in the morning of August 2, 1867, 
two hundred Indians attacked the herders in charge of the 
herd, driving them off ; at the same time, five hundred 
attacked the train at the foot of the mountain, driving off 
the men belonging there and burning the wagons."* 

This double attack had the effect to deprive the com- 
manding officer of nearly one-half of his detachment ; these 
men,, cut off from the "corral" of wagon-beds already- 
described, made the best of their way back to the fort, 
losing several of their number, killed and wounded. 

At the "corral" Major Powell completed his prepara- 
tions for a desperate stand. On that very ground, but a 
few months before, three officers and seventy-six veteran 
enlisted men had been killed in an hour by the same tribe 
of Indians which now, to the number of three thousand 
braves, hemmed in this little band of twenty-six soldiers 
and four civilians. So confident of success were the In- 
dians that they had brought many of their squaws with 
them to assist in torturing the victims, and to carry off the 
plunder. The soldiers were told off to the wagons, which 
were in most cases covered with blankets, under which the 
men laid flat. At the " wagon-on-wheels " on one side. 
Major Powell made his headquarters, rifle in hand, while 
Lieutenant Jenness occupied the other. 

Major Powell's parting injunction to his men, before the 
fight opened, was, " Go in there and fight for your lives." 
And well did his. men execute the order. 

By this time the surrounding hills were covered with 

* Major Powell's Official Report. 



AlV UiVSUCCESSFUL CHARGE. 315 

gayly painted savages, who awaited with impatience the 
moment when the white soldiers should be overwhelmed. 
It was not unlike one of the great Roman spectacles of the 
time of Nero, when bands of Christians were given over to 
wild beasts in full view of the people. As the first act of 
the bloody drama, eight hundred savage horsemen charged 
down upon the silent little spot on the plain, as if to ride 
over their prey and crush them to death under the hoofs 
of their ponies. On they dash, with the speed and the 
force of a whirlwind. As they come within a hundred yards 
of the corral a sheet of flame darts out from the wagon 
sides, followed by a roar, which is kept up without cessation 
for several minutes. Like dry leaves before a gust of 
wind the Indians are swept aside to the right and left. 
The front of the legion has gone down in its place — melted 
as snow under the midday sun ; those in rear are rallied 
again and again, under new leaders, with fresh horsemen, 
but although some get within ten feet of the corral they 
fall dead as if by lightning stroke.* 

None can live in the furnace blast which shrivels up group 
after o-roup of the desperate assailants. Red Cloud, who 
saw this failure from a commanding crest, wondered, and 
secretly chafed at the discomfiture of some of his most 
dashing lieutenants. 

But the success of his whole campaign depended upon 
crushing this puny force— and that speedily. He deter- 
mined to pour his entire band, on foot, down upon the 
corral. 



* Major Powell says one ball often penetrated two Indians. 



3 16 RED-CLOUD'S " BAPTISM OF FIREr 

Lieutenant Jenness, leaving his wagon for a moment, 
to perform some duty or other, exposed himself to the 
enemy's fire and was instantly killed. The firing had been 
so rapid that the barrels of the rifles became very hot, and 
it was difficult to handle them. The poor shots among 
the soldiers were set to work loading spare guns, and keep- 
ing the marksmen supplied. 

To make his second attack overwhelming. Red Cloud 
had circled the corral with masses of Indians, preceded by 
a swarm of sharpshooters, creeping forward, dodging be- 
hind every stump or boulder, and hiding in the hollows, 
firing upon the little garrison constantly. The grand charge 
which followed is well described by Colonel Dodge, U. S. A., 
who afterwards had a talk with one of Red Cloud's sub- 
chiefs, who was wounded in the fight. 

" But now from the hills swarms a semicircle of warriors, 
at least two thousand strong, under the leadership of the 
gallant young nephew of Red Cloud, anxious to signal- 
ize his valor, and to win the right to succeed his uncle 
as sub-chief. When within about five hundred yards, the 
order to charge was given, and the whole line dashed on to 
the corral, to be, when they had almost touched it, hurled 
back in confusion and dismay. Again and again did the 
gallant band rally and charge, only to be again broken, dis- 
comfited and driven back ; and it was only after ' three 
continuous hours ' of almost superhuman effort against this 
unseen, intangible foe, that the line became utterly demor- 
alized, and fled in consternation to the hills. 

" When the defeated horde had reached the safety of 
the hills, they were ordered not to fight any more, but to 



COUNTING THE SLAIN. 317 

recover the bodies of the killed and wounded. A cloud of 
skirmishers were sent out to cover this operation, with 
orders to keep up a continuous fire. All the killed and 
w^ounded nearest the hills were soon taken to the rear and 
cared for, but to recover those nearer to the corral was ex- 
ceedingly difficult and dangerous. Taking one end of a 
long rope, formed by tying together many lariats, a warrior 
ran out into the open as far as he dared, then throwing 
himself on the ground and covering himself with a shield 
of thick buffalo hide, he crawled to the nearest dead or 
wounded man and fastened the rope around his ankles. 
The men in the woods at the other end of the rope then 
pulled on it, and dragged the man or body to a safe place. 
The rescuing warrior then crawled backward, protected by 
his shield." 

TREMENDOUS SLAUGHTER. 

One of the citizens who fought with Powell was a griz- 
zled old trapper, who had spent his life on the frontier, and 
been in Indian fights without number. Some months after 
the battle, the department commander met and questioned 

him. 

" How many Indians were in the attack? " asked the Gen- 
eral. 

" Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say for sartin, but I think thur 
wus nigh onto three thousand of 'em." 

" How many were killed and wounded?" 

" Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say for sartin, but I think thur wur 
nigh onto two thousand ov 'em hit." 

" How many did you kill ? " 



3 1 8 RED-CLOUnS " BAPTISM OF FIRF.r 

" Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say, but gi'me a dead rest, I kin 
hit a dollar at fifty yards every time, and I fired with a dead 
rest at more'n fifty of them varmints inside of fifty yards." 

"For Heaven's sake! how many times did you fire?" 
exclaimed the astonished General. 

" Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say, but I kept eight guns pretty 
well het up for mor'n three hours." * 

Colonel Powell t writes (Sept. 20, 1886): " In one of the 
charges on foot, the Indians came so close that the men, 
not being able to load their pieces fast enough, thrcn' the 
augers (used to bore the loopholes) at the savages, who in 
turn threw them at the soldiers. The tops of the wagon- 
beds were riddled, and after the fight presented a very rag- 
ged appearance, where the enemy's bullets had struck — for- 
tunately, in most cases, above the heads of my men. 

" I claim the credit of shooting Red Cloud's nephew dur- 
ing the fight, which was over before the troops came from 
the Fort to relieve us. V/e were very glad to see them, 
however, as we were nearly exhausted, having been fighting 
continuously from seven o'clock in the morning until three 
in the afternoon." 

The wounded Sioux chief, in the fall of the same year, 
told Colonel Dodge, U. S. A., that the number of Indians 
in the fight was over three thousand, and that a prominent 
"medicine man " of the Sioux told him that the total loss 
in killed and wounded, of Indians, was eleven Jiiindred and. 
tJiirty-seven ; which would be at the rate of one white man 
to two hundred and sixty-eight Indians \ % 

*" Our Wild Indians," by Col. R. I. Dodge. Hartford: A. D. Worthington & Co. 1882. 

+ Major Powell was breveted Lieut. -Colonel U. S. A. for this tight.— [Editor.] 

X The troops lost one officer, and two privates killed, and two private soldiers-wounded. 



THE MED.1CINE FIGHT. 



319 



The Indians on the Plains, to this day, speak of this con- 
flict as something mysterious and awful, and although the}' 
have since learned to use breech-loading arms as skilfully as 
white men, yet the Sioux and Cheyennes always speak of 
the fight as the Medicine Fight, where the "Bad God" 
fousfht against them. 








A FRIEND INDEED. 



320 




CAPTAIN CHARLES KING, 
UNITED STATES ARMY. 



TRAILING THE APACHES. 

I. "A FRIEND INDEED." 

SCARCELY any savages have more thoroughly resisted 
every effort to civilize them than the Apaches. These 
Indians accept, rather sullenly, the beef and bread which 
Uncle Sam periodically issues to them ; but when the first 
green blade shows itself above the ground, the Apache paints 
his face, leaves his tall hat and " store clothes " with his dusky 
housekeeper, mounts one of his numerous ponies and sal- 
lies forth. He carries the latest thing in breech-loaders, the 
newest patent in cartridge belts, filled with bright copper 
cartridges, and a pass from the agent certifying that " the 
bearer, Victorio, is a good Indian." He proceeds leisurely 
through the country, with a few boon companions, killing, 
burning, and laying waste. They are pursued, but so famil 

321 



322 TRAILIXG THE APACHES. 

iar are they with the mountains that it is a long chase and 
a stern chase, indeed, before the last marauder is caught ; 
and many a gallant soldier loses his life in the vain effort 
to perform with one horse what the Indian does not at- 
tempt without three of the toughest beasts known, or if 
necessary does easily on foot. The latest instance of this 
kind is the chase of old Geronimo's band in Arizona by that 
gallant and lamented officer, Captain Crawford, of the Army. 

By the fall of 1874, the Apache War in Arizona had 
dwindled to small proportions. For nearly three years 
General Crook had kept the entire Fifth Cavalry in scattered 
detachments, scouting through the mountains and tracking 
the renegades to their lairs. Fghting had been incessant, 
the regiment had lost many a valuable officer and man, but 
not a single fight, and when the summer of '74 was ushered 
in, nearly all the once savage and hostile Apaches were hud- 
dled together ; some on a reservation far up in the Verde 
Valley, while others were similarly guarded at San Carlos, 
two hundred miles by the mountain trails to the south-east. 
The little garrison of Camp Verde consisted of two troops 
of the Fifth Cavalry, " A " and " K," and two companies of 
the Eighth Infantry, all under command of a veteran sol- 
dier, Brevet Colonel J. W. Mason, Fifth Cavalry. Some 
of the cavalry were still out on the inevitable scout in the 
mountains, to the south-east, but all seemed peaceful around 
the post. 

Lieutenant King, of the Fifth Cavalry, was at work mak- 
ing a survey of the military reservation, and was riding 
along with his little party of rod-and-chain men one Octo- 
ber afternoon, when they were startled by the appear- 



THE ALARM. 



323 



ance of some herders coming toward them at full gallop 
from the foot-hills. They brought the news that instead of 
being all driven off to the south-east or into the Agency, 
as was supposed, there was now a band of Apaches raiding 
through the valley, far above them, and upon the very bor- 
ders of the reservation. Taking two of the herdsmen with 
him. Lieutenant King rode back to the post, where Colonel 
Mason was speedily informed of the news. The first thing 










necessary was to communicate with the commanding officer 
at the Apache reservation, whose station was twenty miles 
up the valley, and the Colonel directed Mr. King to take a 
fresh horse, gallop to the Agency, confer with this officer, 
who was also acting as Indian Agent, and get twenty 
Apache scouts to accompany the troops, which the Colonel 
purposed sending out that very night. Long before sun- 
set, therefore, the Lieutenant was reining in his panting 
horse before the shelter of the spreading canvas under 
which his regimental comrade. Lieutenant Schuyler, was 



324 



TRAILING THE APACHES. 



busily at work writing down the statements of some 
of his own " reservation police," who had come in to 
report that they, too, had found the trail of the raiding 
band, who had driven off some fifty head of cattle 
through the Red Rock country to the north-east. 
Though some years his junior, Lieutenant Schuyler had 
seen much more service against the Apaches than his friend 
and "statesman," King (they were both New Yorkers), 
for the latter had been on other duty until the preceding 
winter, and Schuyler had been selected to command this 
big reservation because of his long experience among, and 
intimate knowledge of, the Apaches. Both of them had 
been in the field commanding scouting parties all that 
Spring, however, and had been usually successful in find- 
ing the Indians for whom they were in chase. They were 
warm personal friends and generous rivals. Here was 
another opportunity for sharp, soldierly work, a chase, a 
battle, the recapture of the stolen cattle and the thrashing 
of the Indian marauders. General Crook was quick to 
appreciate and reward zeal and dash in his young ofificers, 
and both King and Schuyler had already been named by 
him to the President for " brevets " for gallant conduct in 
these conflicts in the Arizona mountains. Neither of them 
would stand in the other's way, yet each was eager for the 
command of the force to be sent, as orders were given in 
those days "to pursue and punish " the Indians in the case. 
The moment Schuyler caught sight of King, he knew that 
the story of the raid had already reached Camp Verde, 
and that it was to be King's " benefit," not his. All the 
same, he gave his comrade every assistance, pointing out to 



PREPARING TO MOVE. 



i-^ 



him that so far from being a day old, as the herders had re- 
ported, it must have been three days since the stock was 
run off, and the Apaches were by this time well up tow- 
ards Snow Lake on the " divide " of the Mogollon. King 
asked for some of the scouts he had had with him in May 
and June, but, as bad luck would have it, they were all out 
with other commands, down toward the Tonto Basin to 
the south-east. Schuyler had nothing to give him but 
some Apache-Yumas, whom King had never seen, and even 
they were out somewhere on the reservation, and would 
have to be hunted up. At sunset, therefore, King re- 
mounted, and with a parting shake of the hand and " Good 
luck to you. Old Man," from his brother lieutenant, hurried 
back to Verde, pondering over in his mind all that Schuyler 
had told him about the probable course taken by the In- 
dians, and the best way to nab them. 

PREPARING FOR THE SCOUT. 

Reaching Verde he found that orders were already issued 
by Colonel Mason. Lieutenants King and Eaton, Fifth 
Cavalry, with twenty men of troops " K " and " A," and 
a like number of Indian scouts were directed to push out 
at dawn, go north-eastward, find the trail, " pursue and 
punish the Indians." King had a few moments' chat with 
his colonel over what Schuyler had told him, and then went 
off to see the veteran packer, Harry Hawes, who was to go 
with the mule train. It was estimated they might be gone 
ten or twelve days, and already the men were drawing from 
the commissary store-house their supplies of bacon, flour, 
coffee, sugar and " hard-tack," while from the ordnance of- 



326 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

fice were lifted out two solid, heavy little boxes, painted a 
dark olive green and labelled, " 1000 Rounds — Springfield 
Carbine Ball Cartridge — Calibre 45." There was no telling 
how much of that sort of thing they would need in addition 
to the supply each officer and man carried on his person in 
the handy ''thimble belt." Lieutenant Eaton was quarter- 
master of the post at the time, and ordinarily would not be 
detailed for such duty as scouting, but here was a chance 
of finding the Indians close at hand, and having the fight 
over and done with in less than a week, so he wanted to go, 
and received the Colonel's permission. 

Busily at work among the soldiers was an Irish sergeant, 
between whom and the cavalry officers, and even men, there 
was a deep respect and esteem. He bore the name of 
Bernard Taylor, was called " B-arney " by the troopers 
when off duty, but respectfully addressed as " Sergeant " at 
all other times. Both King and Eaton knew him well. He 
had been in many a scout and skirmish with the regiment, 
and was hailed as a daring, resolute, intelligent man, and a 
non-commissioned officer of high merit. He had not waited 
for Lieutenant King's return from his forty-mile ride, but 
had everything in readiness to report to him on his arrival. 
The horses had been carefully inspected, and both they and 
the mules were re-shod where the shoes were worn to any 
extent. This is an imperative precaution over the Arizona 
mountain trails — there is no rougher country in the world. 
By ten P.M. everything was ready but the scouts. They 
had not appeared, and as the lieutenant knew he would 
have no great difficulty in overtaking the Indians during 
the week, burdened as they were by slow-moving cattle and 



SUSPICIOUS ALLIES. 3^7 

compelled to follow the beaten trails, he was well content 
with the Colonel's orders to let the men have a few hours' 
sleep before starting. It was his purpose to push up 
Beaver Creek in the dark, and scale the mountains from its 
head-waters, hiding in the canons by day and continuing on 
the chase at night, so that his coming would be unperceived 
even by the wariest of Apache eyes. Late at night the 
Apache-Yumas came riding down from the reservation, and 
reported to Lieutenant King at his quarters. He and Eaton 
looked them over by lantern light and shook their heads. 
" No good," said Eaton. There were fifteen of them, under 
the leadership of a couple of petty chiefs. An interpreter 
came who said that Lieutenant Schuyler wanted the horses 
returned at once. They had only been lent to hurry themi 
down. No mountain Apaches ever did their scouting ex- 
cept on foot, and the f^rst thing these fellows did was to de- 
mand that the horses be kept for their benefit. Being re- 
fused, they began to grumble and then to demand supper, 
and were finally marched off to the command in a sullen 

mood. 

'Til bet a hat," said Sergeant Taylor, as he watched 
them talking in low tones among themselves, " those beg- 
gars know just who the renegades are and don't want to go 
and help find them." 

At the first gray of dawn the little command was ready 

to start. . 

FRONTIER UNIFORM. 

Let us inspect these frontier soldiers. We look in vain, 
with our civilized eyes, for the " pomp and circumstance " 



328 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

which one associates with a "regular" in the East — at 
Washington or New York. Where are the plumes and 
pipe-clay? where the dazzling brasses and the faultless cut 
of the company tailor? A search in the men's lockers 
would doubtless reveal them, snugly packed away for the 
next garrison duty. But here another garb, a combination 
of experience and the old-clothes' bag, is the correct thing. 
We may perhaps except the detachment commander. His 
clothes are not shabby ; and he can't help being neat, even 
when on a "scout." From the top of his low-crowned, 
feather-weight, drab, felt hat to the dark-blue flannel shirt, 
fastened at the neck with a knotted silk handkerchief, and 
the small soft gauntlet which he twirls restlessly in one 
hand, the artist as well as the campaigner stands out ; he of 
all the party wears closely-fitting cavalry breeches, boots, 
spurs, and a cartridge-belt well filled ; an " officer's rifle " 
completes a picturesque and useful outfit. 

Standing by his horse, a little apart from the men, is 
an admirable specimen of the Irish-American soldier. Of 
medium stature, very powerfully built, with a frank, bronzed 
face, bright blue eyes and close-cut auburn hair and mus- 
tache (marked in the descriptive list as "sandy "), Sergeant 
Bernard Taylor of the Fifth Horse would at a glance be 
picked out as one of the best men in the party. His cos- 
tume, although hardly as natty as that of his superior, is 
not less adapted to the nature of the service. A gray felt 
sombrero, with upturned brim, is clapped well down on his 
head, with a gentle inclination over the right eyebrow; a 
faded lead-colored flannel shirt, open at the neck, gives a 
glimpse of a red undershirt ; a plains-man's home-made 



SERGEANT TA YLOK'S OUTFIT. 



329 



cartridge-belt, bristling with metallic ammunition, encircles 
his waist, with a revolver on one side, balanced on the 
other by a keen-bladed hunting-knife ; buckskin breeches, 
and well-greased cowhide boots, with huge rowelled Mexi- 
can spurs, make up the Sergeant's equipment. The short- 
limbed, compactly-built, California horse, standing quietly 
at his elbow, looks fit for any emergency, and has more than 
once shown a clean pair of heels to the enemy, when discre- 
tion on his rider's part has been the better part of valor ; 
the McClellan saddle, stripped of every ounce of unneces- 
sary leather, and planted well forward on the neatly folded 
blanket, the snug sack of barley, like a small section of 
stove-pipe resting behind the cantle of the saddle, the 
extra girth, — all these are signs that mean business. 

The rest are more or less similarly accoutred. Hardly a 
forage cap, not a sabre, nor a letter or number to tell to 
what particular regiment of Uncle Sam's retainers these 
bandit-like horsemen belong. 

Fording the Verde, they pushed rapidly up the valley 
of Beaver Creek, and at night were dragging their horses 
after them in a tough foot-climb up the jagged steeps of 
the Mogollon. Long before midnight the Indians, who 
ought to have served as guides, had dropped hopelessly 
behind. "Tired out," they said, and yet, when they want 
to, any one of them can out-last the stoutest mountaineer 
on a tramp. King, Eaton and Sergeant Taylor led the 
way up the heights or down through the dark ravines, 
guided only by the stars, and when dawn of the second 
day arrived they halted, tired and foot-sore, far up in 
the range, and, they believed, undetected. 
17 



330 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

One thing had occurred to confirm the suspicions of 
Sergeant Taylor. Climbing up out of a deep gorge they 
came, just before daybreak, to a point from which they 
could see the range, far away northward, and there, stand- 
ing boldly out among the eastern cliffs of the reservation, 
casting its glare miles to the eastward, but hidden from the 
west, was a huge signal fire, a warning to the enemy that 
the soldiers were coming. King sent back to the rear for 
his scouts and silently pointed to the distant blaze as they 
were finally huddled before him. One and all they denied 
all knowledge of it, but declared they could not keep up — 
" Soldiers go too fast." Warned that the first one caught 
at anything that might betray the presence of the com- 
mand would be summarily shot, they were herded down to 
the next ravine, where the day was spent in resting in con- 
cealment. 

The next night the command marched rapidly through 
a wild and beautiful table-land, far up in the mountains, 
among pine, juniper and scrub oak. Here nothing could 
keep the Indians along with the column. Two of them 
swore they were sick, and both the officers felt certain that 
they knew the troops were rapidly nearing the position of 
the " hostiles," and dared not be with them. One of them 
was so cold and abject an object that the Lieutenant or- 
dered him to mount a spare mule. He did so, fell asleep, 
rolled off and nearly cracked his skull. Eaton picked him 
up, unconscious, and plastered the crack as well as he could 
by starlight, and then, leaving the Indian in charge of two 
of his demoralized comrades, the little column pushed 
ahead. When they reached the banks of Snow Lake, far 



A HOT TRAIL. 33 1 

up on the plateau, only nine of the scouts were left. Two 
had deserted and gone no one knew whither. 

The actions of the entire gang were so unlike those of 
all the other scouts with whom the two officers had dealt 
in the past that they became thoroughly distrustful of 
them. They kept protesting to Lieutenant King that no 
Apaches could be in the vicinity, but their very volubility 
convinced him they were lying, and excited his wrath. It 
had grown sharply cold so far up among the mountains, that 
the water froze in the canteens at night, and the Indians 
complained bitterly of the hardships. But on the dawn 
of October 31, King and Sergeant Taylor, scouting out 
in front, came upon recent Apache signs in the sand of a 
little gully ; more than that, they were soon on the track of 
the captured cattle. That very evening, down in a broad 
depression, they came in sight of the chase, and, leaving 
their skulking allies to look out for themselves, the little 
troop rode headlong down the slopes, and while some 
"rounded up" the frightened cattle, King, Eaton and 
most of the men* rushed on in pursuit of the Apaches, who 
had scattered into the hills. Darkness put an end to that, 
however, and they had to wait until the scouts came up. 

Leaving a guard with the cattle, King and his men 
again set forth about nine P.M., and found themselves, 
about one in the morning, in the defile known as Sunset 
Pass, where they bivouacked for the night. Their orders 
were to " pursue and punish." They had pursued, but up 
to this moment had inflicted no punishment. Both officers 
were confident that they would find the Apaches lurking 
ip the mountains north or south of the Pass, and were de- 



^7^2 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

termined to have it out with them ; but the scouts pro- 
tested that as soon as it was dark the Tontos must have 
doubled on their track and gone back towards Snow Lake. 
At dawn, King ordered them out to search the neighbor- 
hood for signs. They were in a rocky ravine, through 
which there trickled a tiny stream that formed little pools 
here and there, from which they watered their horses. 
South rose a rugged mountain, covered with tangled shrub- 
bery and boulders. Northward lay another, and between 
them curled and twisted the old trail leading to the Sunset 
Crossing of the Colorado Chiquito, twenty miles away. 
The Indians sullenly obeyed, but huddled nervelessly to- 
gether, making only faint pretence of search, and inces- 
santly protesting, " No Tonto here." 

" THICK AS LEAVES." 

Suddenly there came a shout from down the ravine. 
Some of the men, in hunting about, had come finally on 
a pool with sandy shores, and there, thick as leaves, 
were the fresh prints of Tonto moccasons. The scouts 
were fairly driven to the spot by the ofificers, and con- 
fronted with the evidences of their worthlessness. Then 
came the hurried consultations. It was evident that after 
filling their water-vessels the Tontos had taken to the 
mountains, south of the Pass, and King determined to fol- 
low at once. Eaton, with the main body, was ordered to 
remain a short distance in rear, while the commander, with 
Sergeant Taylor, should force the scouts ahead and find 
the trail up the rocky slopes. White men could not do it 
unaided, and there were a dozen ways in which the Indians 



"HEAP TONTO SIGN:' 2>'iT, 

might have gone. Damning them for their cowardice and 
treachery, King warned the scouts that they might expect a 
shot from either himself or Taylor if they lied again, or- 
dered them out in dispersed line across the slope, and then, 
pointing upward, gave the word " Ugashe " (go ahead), 
and he and Taylor followed at their heels. 

The ardent officer soon found himself and the Sergeant 
far in advance of the more slowly moving detachment. In 
a few minutes both stood upon a great flat rock, jutting 
out from the precipice, and covered with huge boulders, 
relics of some early upheaval ; above them, the great cliff 
reared its forbidding front, black and seamed with the 
storms of ages ; below, the mountain side fell away in 
mingled forest and ravine and rushing torrent. 

Looking around for some outlet to the spot, for he was 
convinced the hostiles were lurking near, the Lieutenant 
sent the Sergeant in one direction, while he cautiously glided 
into the underbrush in an attempt to flank the position. A 
moment later something whizzed by his head and buried 
itself deep in a tree. He had found the hornet's nest ! In 
another moment he felt a sharp burning sensation as an- 
other dart, better aimed, cut through the muscles at the 
outer corner of his left eye and flew down toward the cow- 
ardly scouts, who, at the sound of the first arrow, had taken 
to their heels. 

A hornet's nest. 

To jump behind a convenient rock was but the work of a 
moment for the bleeding but not seriously injured officer. 
With carbine at " ready," he eagerly watched for the game. 



334 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

He had not long to wait. Another arrow sped by his head 
from the left, and like lightning his rifle was at his shoulder; 
a sharp report followed, and one of two dark forms crouch- 
ing in his front dropped out of sight. Ere he could reload, 
a volley came from the same direction, his carbine dropped 
from his hand, and his right arm, pierced by a bullet, hung 
nerveless by his side, while down the wounded limb the 
warm life-blood poured. 

In such situations men must think quickly. He must 
run for it. Could he hold out until he reached his men, 
whom he knew were even then springing forward to his 
relief? All this passed through the gallant fellow's mind 
in a second. In another he was springing down the side of 
the hill with the yelling red devils after him, but moving 
more slowly, as they did not expect any friends in that 
direction. 

The breathless and fast weakening soldier hardly needs the 
obstruction of a tough, clinging vine to send him headlong 
eight or ten feet down, where, bruised and nearly senseless, 
he lies. But one thought is uppermost. They shall not 
take him alive without another shot. He fumbles for his 
revolver and — what is that ? Upon his ear comes a familiar 
sound. It is the Sergeant calling his name. " Lieutenant ! 
Lic2itcnant ! where are ye ? " 

" Here ! Sergeant," faintly replies the wounded man. 

The Sergeant took in the situation at a glance. In a mo- 
ment he had picked up his officer (who held on with one arm 
round the soldier's neck) and was getting over the ground 
in true mountaineer fashion. 

When King fell, the Apaches for a few moments lost his 



SA VING HIS OFFICER 'S LIFE. 



335 



trail, but now they came tearing after the fugitives. Every 
few yards Sergeant Taylor would stop and send a reminder 
from his carbine that his arms were all right, and twice a 
Tonto measured his length on the rocks. But the gallant 
Irishman was getting winded, and King, fearing that both 
would lose their lives, urged, implored, ORDERED his com- 
panion to leave him and save himself. 

But the Sergeant was- not that sort of man .' To leave 
any white human being — much less the officer whom he 
loved and respected — to the mercy of those howling fiends 
was not to be thought of for an instant. He knew what 
that meant, — death by torture, with which the cruelties of 
the Spanish Inquisition pale by contrast. The shots now 
came more frequently, they came closer, and arrows mingled 
with the leaden shower. 

At last, just as Sergeant Taylor's strength has nearly 
given out with the weight and the pace, sounds of crashing 
bushes and excited voices are heard, and — 

" Here come the boys, sir ! " is the welcome shout which 
rings in the Lieutenant's ear as he loses consciousness. 

In a quarter of an hour the affair is over. Several of the 
Apaches have gone to the happy hunting-grounds of their 
people, and the command is resting in a picturesque nook. 
Lieutenant King's w^ound is not beyond the rough surgery 
of old campaigners, of whom there are not a few in the 
command. Fortunately, the ball had avoided the arteries 
and the bones. Cold-water applications, careful bandaging, 
some strong coffee, and as soft a bed of blankets as could 
be made, went far towards bracing the disabled cavalryman 
for the ride back to his post. And although suffering 



336 



TRAILING THE APACHES. 



much, the first thing he did upon his arrival was to dictate 
an official report, in which Sergeant Taylor's conduct came 
in for conspicuous mention and recommendation to the 
military authorities. None realized better than the Lieu- 
tenant that, but for Taylor's pluck and perseverance, to 
some other pen would have fallen this professional duty. 

It was for this act of daring and devotion that Sergeant 
Bernard Taylor was named for and awarded the Medal 




of Honor, and in the skirmish up the height Corporal 
Bryan Smith and Private Frank Biffar were named for 
conspicuous conduct. 

Taylor was a typical Irishman, brave, intelligent, full of 
high spirit and pride in his regiment. 

He was a fine i"ider, a quick shot, a gallant and enthusias- 
tic trooper, and never more thoroughly in his element than 
in the rough mountain scouting, in which the Fifth spent 
so many stirring years. Poor fellow ! he lived only a few 



DECORATED A AD DESEKVEXG. 






brief months, and died at Verde, just before the regiment 
started on its homeward march. 




SERGEANT JuHN NllIILL, 
FIFTH U. S. ARTILLEKV. 



II. THREE TO ONE, 



Frequently the force sent after the hostile Indians is 
small, but that it gains in quality what it lacks in quantit}- 
appears from the story of Private JOHN NiHiLL, "F," 5th 
U. S. Cavalry, a soldier who won a Medal of Honor for his 
good conduct in the Whetstone Mountains, Arizona, July 
13, 1S72, and upon other occasions. 

He has since become a sergeant in Battery " B," 5th U. 










h 



ISi^^i? II 











SERGE AiYT A'lHILL 'S AD VENTURE. 339 

S. Artillery, and at the Editor's request gives the follow- 
ing account of one of his adventures :* 

" During the Summer of 1872, the troop to which I then 
belonged (' F,' Fifth Cavalry) was stationed at Camp 
Crittenden, A. T,, which at that time was the most ex- 
treme Southern post in Arizona. The post was situated 
at the base of the Santa Rita Mountains, which at that 
time was a favorite resort of the Chiricahua Apaches, in 
their raids through Southern Arizona. 

"In the Summer of 1872, the Apaches committed more 
depredations in the vicinity of Camp Crittenden than in 
any other part of the territory, and we were poorly pre- 
pared to return the compliment, having only the one troop 
at the post, three-fourths of whom were sick with chills and 
fever, and unable to perform any duties, so that a sufficient 
force could not be sent out against them, to punish them in 
their favorite haunts. Still, Lieutenant Hall, the post com- 
mander, did all that possibly could be done, under the cir- 
cumstances, to afford protection to the settlers in the vi- 
cinity of the post. 

" Indian alarms were daily occurrences, so that it was noth- 
ing new, when, on the morning of July 13, 1872, a Mexican 
ranchman, who lived about two miles from the post, came 
in at daylight and reported that during the night a party 



* Medals won by Sergeant John Nihill, " B," 5th U. S. Artillery. {See Portrait.) 
The medals on the right and left, respectively, of the Medal of Honor are <i) the De- 
partment of the East, " Skirmisher Medal," arfd (2) Division of the Atlantic, " First Silver 
Medal," won at Creedmoor, Sept., 18S5. The medal under the first named is (3) the 
" Battery Medal," to be won three years in succession before becoming the property of 
the winner ; won successively 1884, 1885 and 1886 by the wearer. The medals under the 
Medal of Honor are f4) a " Marksman's Pin " and (5) a " Sharpshooter's Cross." The one 
on the left of the cross is (6) the Division of the Missouri " Silver Medal," won at Fort 
Leavenworth, Sept. 27, 1S82. (For Nihill's Certificate of Merit, see p. 266.) 



340 TRAILIXG THE APACHES. 

of Indians who had a lot of stolen cattle in their posses- 
sion had passed by his ranch at a quick gait. Immediately 
a detail of eight men, including the First Sergeant, under 
command of Lieutenant Hall, started in pursuit. 

" The trail was found within 600 yards of the post, and as 
it had been raining the day before, the ground was soft, 
so that there was little difificulty in following it while in 
the open country. 

" The trail headed towards the \M'ietstone Mountains, 
which were distant about fifteen miles, south-east from the 
post. 

" We travelled as rapidly as the nature of the ground 
would permit, hoping to overhaul them before they reached 
the mountains. 

" Several times the trail was lost, owing to it leading over 
rough, rocky ground, but as the majority of us had more or 
less experience in trailing, we would soon recover it again. 

" When we reached the mountains our progress was nec- 
essarily slow, as the Indians had in several instances split 
up, so as to throw us off the trail, but they invariably 
came together again at some given point. 

" Late in the afternoon we passed some cattle that the In- 
dians abandoned in a deep ravine, as they were thoroughly 
exhausted and unable to travel any farther. This caused 
us to make as much haste as possible, as we knew they 
would strike into some of the deep canons in the moun- 
tains, where it would be almost impossible to follow them. 

" About two miles from where we passed the cattle, the 
trail led into a deep canon, where we had the greatest dif- 



MOUNTAIX FIGHTIXG. 34 1 

ficulty in following it, and then could only do so by dis- 
mounting and leading our horses. 

" We had advanced in this manner about one mile into the 
canon, when we were suddenly attacked by about forty 
Indians, who were concealed behind rocks on one side of 
the canon, and about 800 feet above us. The side of the 
ravine where the Indians had taken up their position was 
almost vertical, so that it was almost impossible to get a 
shot at them. 

" At the time the Indians made the attack I was following 
the trail of some who had gone up the opposite side of the 
canon, I was about 75 or 100 yards to the right of and in 
advance of the rest of the party. I took up a position be- 
hind a small tree, which had a fork about five feet from the 
ground ; in this fork I rested my carbine to steady it. I 
watched for every opportunity to fire at an Indian, but 
they were so well concealed behind rocks that it was 
almost impossible to catch more than a fleeting glance of 
them, as they ran from one position to another. 

" During this time, some of Lieutenant Hall's party were 
wounded, as also some of his horses, and to make matters 
worse, the Indians commenced to roll rocks down from 
the top of the cliffs ; these came down with such force and 
noise that the horses became almost unmanageable. 

" It was then that Lieutenant Hall made up his mind to 
retreat, and gave the men orders to do so, the First Sergeant 
and himself taking the post of danger, in rear, and giv- 
ing the wounded men the chance to get out first. 

" When the order was given to retreat I was watching 
a chance to get a shot at an Indian who was dodging behind 



342 TRAILIXG THE APACHES. 

the rocks on the opposite side of the canon. I did not no- 
tice that I was being left behind until my party had got 
a considerable distance ahead of me. 

" However, I started to catch up to them. I was dis- 
mounted, with the bridle-rein over my arm, and my car- 
bine in readiness for whatever might turn up. After I had 
gone about 300 yards I was fired at by an Indian, but the 
gun (a muzzle-loader) missed fire, and before he could make 
a second attempt I fired and dropped him. 

" In the mean time, three others rushed down the side of 
the canon, with the intention of cutting me of? from the 
remainder of my party. One of these stopped long enough 
to shoot at me, but missed, and I returned his fire, and was 
fortunate enough to bring him down also. The other two 
concealed themselves behind rocks, directly in front of me. 
I turned my horse loose, and drove him ahead to try and 
draw the fire of the Indians. I moved about 30 or 40 yards 
to the right of my horse, making as little noise as possible ; 
when my horse got within about 30 yards of them, they 
came crawling around the rocks to the side where they were 
exposed to me, and just as soon as they discovered me I 
fired, killing one ; the other jumped into a ravine and I 
saw him no more. I kept on and rejoined my party, who 
were waiting at the mouth of the caiion. 

" We marched that night to old Camp Wallen, an aban- 
doned post on the south side of the Whetstone Mountains, 
on a tributary of the San Pedro River. We made the 
wounded as comfortable as the circumstances would permit, 
and next day marched back to Camp Crittenden. 

" A few days afterwards we went back with all the me*" 



THREE TO ONE. 



343 



that could be spared from the post, but did not find any 
Indians. 

" In the latter trip, Lieutenant Stewart went along-. 
About one month afterwards he was killed in Davidson's 
Canon, with Corporal Black, while going in with the mail to 
Tucson, and in a short time afterwards Sergeant Stewart, 




Corporal Nation, and Privates Carr and Walsh, were killed 
about two miles from the post, in the Sonoita Valley. 

"The Indians got to be so bad that when we went 
to '■ stables,' morning and evening, we took our arms 
along and kept them in the stalls while grooming. 

''The post was abandoned in January, 1873, and all the 
property removed to New Camp Grant, where we took post." 

Corporal Nihill's account is corroborated by the following 
extract from the official report of Lieutenant W. P. Hall,, 
Fifth Cavalry : 



344 TKAILIXG THE APACHES. 

"On the 13th of July, 1872, I was in command of a 
party of eight men of Troop ' F,' Fifth Cavalry, and fol- 
lowing a fresh Indian trail, which led into a deep caiion 
in the Whetstone Mountains, .Arizona Territory. My 
party was attacked by about forty Indians, who were con- 
cealed behind rocks. Private Nihill was a flanker to my 
party and about 200 yards on my right ; four Indians en- 
deavored to cut him off from the rest of the party, who 
were unable to go to his assistance ; his horse was badly 
wounded ; he, however, made his way through them, kill- 
ing three Indians. He brought out his horse, and acted 
throughout in a gallant and praiseworthy manner." 

III. THE APACHE CAMPAIGN OF 1SS5. 

The following is the statement of Private SYLVESTER 
Grover, Troop " C," 4th Cavalry, who received a Certifi- 
cate of Merit for the affair which is, as nearly as possible, 
related in his own words : — 

"In October, 1885, I was stationed at Lang's Ranch, N. 
M., directly on the line of the Pan Handle of New Mexico 
and the Mexican State of Chihuahua. On the 9th of that 
month I was ordered, with Private Hickman, Troop * F,' 
4th Cavalry, to carry despatches which had arrived from 
Captain Crawford, in Mexico, to General Crook, at Fort 
Bowie, A. T. 

" We left about 1 1 o'clock A.M. and put up for the night 
at a ranch about forty miles from our starting-point. 

" Next morning, before daybreak, we started off, and trav- 
elled at good speed towards Cow Boy Pass. The country 
through which we passed is perfectly level, except piles of 



PRIVATE GKOVER'S "CLOSE CALL." 345 

rocks called Mai Pais, with which the plain is covered and 
through which the road winds. None of these piles are 
more than the height of a man and horse, and we had a 
good view of the country around us and had no idea that 
any hostile Indians were in the vicinity, as the last we heard 
of them located them below the National Boundary. 

" About 9 o'clock, A.M., while passing near one of these 
rock piles, we were suddenly fired upon by about fourteen 
Indians, who. upon delivering the fire, suddenly rose up 
around us. 

" Hickman fell at once from his horse, dead, as I found out 
afterwards. My horse dashed away with me and got about 
five hundred yards when he fell dead. I dragged myself 
from the saddle, got the despatches out of the saddle-bags, 
and with my carbine crawled to a pile of rocks about 
twenty yards off. 

" I could see part of the Indians chasing Hickman's horse, 
and the rest followed me up on foot. 

" I opened fire on them at once, and held them at bay. 
They did not know that I was wounded, and to that fact 
I undoubtedly owe my life. 

" After the Indians caught Hickman's horse they all made 
a break at me. I fired as fast as my wounds would let me, 
and at last had the satisfaction of seeing them leave 
toward the mountains, which gave me a chance to look at 
my wounds. I found that I was shot through the fleshy 
part of the thigh, below the hip, and through the left wrist 
and hand. 

" For over two hours and a half I was lying under a 
burning sun, without water, and I felt that my last mo- 



346 TRAILING THE APACHES. ■ 

ments were coming, when I saw a wagon approaching. 
With it were seven citizens, some of whom were discharged 
Government scouts and packers. 

" I called out as well as I could, and managed to make 
them hear me at last. They stopped, brought me water, 
washed my wounds, and made me as comfortable as possi- 
ble, and brought me to the Post Hospital, at Fort Bowie. 

" Hickman was shot in seven places. The Indians did not 
mutilate his body, only took off his belts. 

^ " My horse was shot four times, one shot passing through 
his body. 

" I have since recovered entirely from my wounds, and, 
through the recommendation of my captain, have been 
awarded a ' Certificate of Merit ' by the President of the 
United States." 



This is a short, concise statement of the affair, which was 
really very desperate. The man is very quiet and modest 
and not inclined to talk much about it, and does not think 
that there was very much in it. 

The affidavits which accompanied the recommendation 
give more of the latter part, after the citizens came up. 

Grover is about twenty-seven years old and has been a 
soldier about seven years.— [Editor.] 




347 




SERGEANT_JOHN HARRINGTON, 

THIRD V. S. CAVALRY. 



A SPARTAN BAND.* 

THE year 1874 was an eventful one in the history of 
the border. The Cheyennes, resident in the Indian 
Territory, the most warlike and powerful of the south- 
western Indians, had for a long time been restive, and as 
soon as the grass had suflficiently matured to subsist their 
ponies, many of the younger warriors of the tribe, thirsting 
for blood and glory, formed themselves into bands and se't 
forth upon predatory incursions into Southern Kansas and 
Colorado. 

With their faces painted, dressed in barbaric costumes, 
and mounted on fleet ponies, these parties penetrated Kansas 
to the northern part of the Arkansas River, poured into 



* This chapter has been contributed by Captain J. S. Payne, U. S. A (late ,th U S 

34« 



IN THE IXD/AX TERRITORY. 349 

south-eastern Colorado, and swarming about the defiles of 
the Rocky Mountains, lighted their camp-fires almost at 
the entrance to the famous Raton Pass. They killed cattle, 
stole horses and mules, burned ranches, and when they 
returned to their villages, there to narrate their exploits to 
the squaws and old men, more than one brave carried at 
his girdle the reeking scalp of a hated " pale face." Of 
course this whetted the savage appetite, and the warlike 
feeling soon manifesting itself amongst the neighboring 
tribes, the Kiowas, Comanches and Arapahoes, a general 
Indian war resulted. In August, a large force of cavalry 
and infantry, under the command of General Nelson A. 
Miles, then colonel of the 5th Infantry, was assembled at 
Camp Supply, Indian Territory, which point it left 
the 19th of that month ; its object being the pursuit, 
capture, or defeat of the large Indian force that, as had 
been ascertained by scouts, was at that time located some- 
where near the Antelope Hills, on the banks of the Cana- 
dian River. The Summer of 1874 was intensely warm, and 
no rain had fallen throughout that region since early Spring, 
so that the streams, even the large ones that traversed the 
Indian Territory and the " Pan Handle " of Texas, were 
dry, or nearly so. The troops and animals, in consequence, 
suffered greatly from thirst, but the column was pushed 
steadily on, until, after many a weary march through chok- 
ing alkali dust and beneath the fierce, pitiless rays of a 
southern midsummer sun, a broad Indian trail was struck 
on the Sweetwater and relentlessly followed. Our march 
on the 29th of August was long and toilsome, but when 



350 A SPARTAN BAND. 

evening came we saw the promise of success before us. We 
had crossed the wide flat plateau south of Ash Creek, and 
had reached its southern border, where it broke off into 
ravines, deep valleys and precipitous knolls, covered with rich 
verdure. Just as the long column was about to descend 
into the valley below, and as our eyes were resting with a 
keen sense of pleasure upon this picturesque, involuted 
landscape, brightened and beautified by the last rays of the 
rapidly sinking sun, great clouds of dust arose before us, 
and we knew that at last our game was within reach. 

We camped in the valley that night, and early next 
morning, near Red River, defeated them with loss in war- 
riors and camp equipage, and pursued them to the far 
famed Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain of Texas. We had 
been marching in light order, and now awaited the arrixal 
of our supply train. Having remained in camp until the 
7th of September, and without news from our train, it be- 
came evident that the savages had cut our line of communi- 
cation, and consequently the command was forced to retrace 
its steps. The loth found us in camp on McClellan Creek, 
and here an event occurred so well indicating the boldness 
and skill of an Indian warrior, that I must ask leave to 
place it on record in this place. The troops were en- 
camped among several knolls that overlooked the valley of 
the creek I have named. The tired horses were out graz- 
ing on the rich bunch-grass growing on the hill-sides, and as 
the command was dependent upon game for subsistence 
several large parties were out hunting buffalo, which were 
numerous in that country at the time. 



PETIT JOHN SCALPED. 351 

A BOLD EXPLOIT. 

About one o'clock in the afternoon, whilst a number of 
officers were seated upon the top of a knoll, some one had 
called attention to two soldiers who were just leaving 
camp, mounted, en route up the valley, and the remark had 
just been made that it was dangerous for so small a party 
to leave the command, when a body of mounted men sud- 
denly appeared upon a high hill, further up the stream. 
They disappeared almost instantly, and whilst we were 
discussing the question whether they were Indians or a 
hunting party of soldiers, our attention was again attracted 
to the two soldiers before mentioned, who had now pro- 
ceeded to a point some five hundred yards from camp. 
The point of a bluff ran quite close to the creek at the spot 
the two soldiers then were, the valley narrowing to a 
hundred yards or less. Just as the leading man was about 
to turn the spur of the bluff, an Indian, mounted on a gray 
pony, was seen by us — though unseen by the soldier — com- 
ing at full speed around the point. He was followed at 
short distances by several others. There was no time to 
give warning. In a moment the leading warrior was 
around the bluff, and raising his rifle he fired upon the ad- 
vancing trooper, breaking the latter's right arm. The brave's 
lance was instantly in rest, and rushing upon his helpless 
foe, he ran him through, hurled him from his horse, and, 
dismounting, tore away the bleeding scalp of his victim, and 
flaunting it in our very faces, mounted and was gone. The 
other soldier had only his revolver, which he emptied with 
the effect to keep the other savages at bay. Pursuit was 



0-2 A SPAR TAX PA. YD. 

made, of course, but so weary were our animals it was un- 
availing, and poor Petit John was unavenged. 

From the camp on McClellan Creek, General Miles tound 
it necessary to send despatches to Camp Supply, and for this 
important mission a select party of six men was detailed. 
It comprised the following soldiers of the 6th Cavalry : 
Sergeant Z. T. Woodall, Privates John Harrington, 
Peter Roth, and George W. Smith, of troops " I," 
" H," "A," and " M," respectively, and Citizen Scouts WIL- 
LIAM Dixon and Amos Chapman. The enlisted men 
wore the summer scouting uniform, light blue trowsers 
re-enforced with white canvas, dark blue flannel shirt, soft 
black felt hat, and top boots. Their blouses and overcoats 
were rolled on their saddles, and they carried neither shelter 
tents nor blankets. Dixon and Chapman were dressed in 
buckskin trowsers, ornamented with fringe, dark flannel 
shirts with sailor collars, and each wore moccasons and 
broad-brimmed white-felt hats. Every man carried rifle, 
revolver and two hundred rounds of ammunition ; a hunting- 
knife stuck in each man's belt. The duty demanded cool- 
ness and courage, and braver men were never selected for 
desperate service. The country was infested by savages. 
They were to be looked for at every stream ; every clump 
of trees might be an ambuscade ; in every ravine danger 
and sudden death might lurk. But these brave fellows, 
fully realizing their peril, received their final orders, 
mounted their good horses and cheerily set forth, followed 
by the best of wishes, and at the same time the feelings of 
deepest apprehension, entertained by their comrades and 
ofificers. 



SIX GALLANT CA I 'ALIERS. 



The red September sun was still shining across the gentle 
undulations of the prairie as the party left camp, but it 
soon sank in gorgeous splendor behind the purple hills, and 
the sombre shades of night fell softly upon the vast plain. 
Deep down in the darkening shadows of the great cotton- 
wood trees that fringed McClellan Creek rode our brave 
adventurers ; not foolhardy, reckless men, but each confident 
of himself and of his companions, and resolutely prepared 
to encounter every danger. After several hours' march the 
party camped for the night, and at early dawn were again 
in the saddle. Between the rising and the setting sun of 
the nth they travelled nearly fifty miles, and when over- 
taken by darkness sought a secluded spot for the night. 

And now, before daylight of the 12th, our troopers are 
again on their way, riding swiftly across the great plain. 
The morning star has sunk to the very verge of the hori- 
zon and shines there like a ball of silver ; the stars over- 
head are beginning " to pale their ineffectual fires " before 
the rising sun, whose advent is heralded in the east, first 
by a faint, uncertain glow, followed by rosy gleams of 
brightness. Then the clouds take to themselves the o-or- 
geous tints of the morning, increasing in beauty until a 
flood of primrose radiance pours upon the scene, and then, 
sending forth in advance long shafts of light, the Day-god 
leaps above the horizon, and soars aloft in luminous splen- 
dor. The dew-drops glisten like diamonds ; all is quiet, 
serene and beautiful in that great solitude. Not much is 
said by the members of the party as they speed along, for 
at such times men are not much given to speech. Nothing 
is heard save the steady tramp, tramp of the horses' feet. 



354 



A SPARTAN BAND. 



pressing the dewy sward, the occasional rattle of carbine 
against stirrup or saddle, or the sweet note of lark or 
thrush. ^ 

"FRIENDS OR FOES?" 

On, on they ride, now descending into an arroya, where 
all surrounding objects are hidden from view, now ascend- 
ing an acclivity, now crossing a divide, and again straight 
as the crow flies, traversing a dead fiat. Every eye is on 
the lookout, every ear alert, yet no sound has disturbed 
them, no suspicious object has been seen. But they are 
riding into the toils, and one of them is going to his death. 
The dew on grass and flower was dry, and the sun was float- 
ing two hours above the sea of grass, when, as the party 
ascended a slight eminence, Chapman, whose eye was like 
an Indian's, said, " Boys, we are in luck ; there is the advance 
guard of the wagon train," and he pointed to the north- 
east, where there was soon disclosed, to the full view of the 
whole party, a number of horsemen. They were riding in a 
body, and it was this circumstance that induced the belief 
that they were soldiers. 

But the meeting so soon to take place was not destined 
to be of the friendly and agreeable kind anticipated. The 
practised eyes of Chapman and Dixon, ever on the alert, 
soon saw, from certain movements amongst the advancing' 
party, that they were Indians, and as Indians, at that time 
and place, meant deadly enemies, everything was got ready 
for the approaching combat. A brief halt was made, arms 
and ammunition carefully examined, and saddle girths 
looked to. The advance guard of the Indians, for such 



READY FOR THE FRAY. 



555 



turned out to be the party first discov-ered, was now fol- 
lowed by a much more numerous body, which deployed to 
the right and left of the trail. They were now within 
half a mile, and as they rode forward in the sunlight it was 
easy to distinguish their brightly colored blankets and 
their war-bonnets, whose long trailing plumes of eagles' 
feathers floated softly on the breeze. Indeed, they pre- 
sented at this moment a striking and beautiful barbaric 
picture that our soldier friends, however, had neither the 
time nor inclination to admire. The point where the In- 
dians were encountered was midway between Gageby 
Creek and the Washita River, Texas. The country in the 
vicinity was high, undulating prairie, presenting, however, 
few spots suitable for defence. Hills and valleys followed 
each other in succession, and here and there was an arroya 
or ravine, affording some slight cover. Timber there was 
none, and whatever position the little band of white men 
might take would be open to assault, front, flank, and rear, 
as well as exposed to fire from every direction at long range. 
But they were ready for the fray, and right nobly on this 
September day did they maintain the high reputation of 
their race for heroic courage and patient fortitude in the 
face of what seemed to them inevitable death. Capture 
meant torture, and of course there was no word or thought 
of surrender. Escape was impossible, so with brave hearts 
these gallant men went to the encounter. And now that 
the moment of conflict has come I will let one of the par- 
ticipants in this memorable border fight (Private Harring- 
ton) tell the story in his own way. 

He says: " Between us and the Indians was a good-sized 



:;r6 A SPARTAN BAND. 

ravine, to which we advanced and rode into, they being 
still on the opposite side. We had scarcely time to dis- 
mount and leave the horses in charge of Smith, before they 
were on us from all sides ; we sought what shelter we could 
on the sides of the ravine, and while we were doing so, 
Smith was shot through the arm, compelled to abandon 
the horses, and join us. About twenty-five Indians then 
charged down the ravine and stampeded our horses, taking 
all but one. Concluding that things were getting too 
warm for us and that we would have to find some better 
position, we formed a skirmish line and fell back, the one 
horse left by the Indians following us. An Indian at- 
tempted to capture him, when Sergeant Woodall turned 
and fired, and the Indian fell. 

" We again retreated in skirmish line, receiving their fire 
from all directions. Whenever we attempted to secure a 
knoll or other vantage ground, the Indians would be ahead 
of us in such numbers as to make us change our direction. 
None of us even expected to get out of the fray alive, with 
such fearful odds against us, but all determined to die hard 
and make the best fight possible. We continued our skir- 
mishing, and whenever a shelter was secured, took what 
little rest we could until driven out by renewed attacks. 

"At every halt, the Indians, dismounted, would surround 
us, closing in from all sides. The ' medicine man,' deco- 
rated with buffalo horns and an immense head-dress of eagle 
feathers reaching to, his horse's tail, looking like the Devil 
himself, tried to force them to charge over us ; each time 
as they circled in to within about twenty-five yards, we 
would jump up, yell, and run toward those in our rear. 



WITCHING HORSEMANSHIP. 357 

The Indians could not fire for fear of hitting their own 
party, but would open out and allow us to pass through 
their line, firing at us as we went through. 

" It seems almost impossible that we should have received 
their fire, as long as we did, without serious injury ; but it 
could not go on so forever. We kept up these tactics 
until about four o'clock in the afternoon. The ' medicine 
man,' now the only mounted one of their party, kept riding 
around us all the time, getting bolder and firing his pistol 
when he came in range. Chapman, the scout, said ' not to 
mind him, for he couldn't hit anything,' but at last he came 
within about twenty yards, when Scout Dixon fired at him, 
after which we saw no more of the bold ' medicine man.' 

" By this time we were about fagged out, and our ammu- 
nition, of which we had two hundred rounds per man in 
the morning, nearly exhausted. Determining to make 
one last stand, we broke for a small knoll on the top of 
which was a buffalo wallow. While attempting to gain this 
position, Smith was again shot and fell, mortally wounded. 
Woodall was shot in the groin, and I in the hip. All 
p;ained the knoll but Smith." 

WITCHING HORSEMANSHIP. 

Sergeant Woodall writes (from his station. Fort Cum- 
mings, N. M., August i, 1886) of the clever tactics of the 
Indians, as follows : "At this stage we were eye-witnesses 
to some of the most magnificent feats of horsemanship that 
could not be equalled by any like number of men in the 
world, — rising readily from the stirrups while the horses 
were in rapid motion, and standing erect on the backs of their 



35^ 



A SPARTAxV BAND. 



animals while they delivered their fire, and then instantly 
dropping, as if shot, into the stirrups, swinging tnemselves 
rapidly under their horses' bellies, in which position they 
could easily aim and fire. These tactics were continued 
by them for some time. There was one spot on the prairie 
where the grass stood over five feet high. Toward ' this 
place the Indians would ride as fast as their ponies could 
go, and I noticed every time any of the men fired at an 
Indian near this place the latter would drop as if hit, while 
their ponies would continue on until finally caught by some 
of the squaws. Fully twenty of them dropped in this man- 
ner, leading us to believe that they were all hit. Nothing 
more was seen of them for about an hour, during which our 
attention was engaged in an opposite direction by another 
party of Indians, who repeatedly charged us, eventually forc- 
ing us from our position. In moving to higher ground we 
approached the bunch of tall grass, before referred to, near 
which we had seen so many Indians drop. We got within 
fifty yards when a line of Indians suddenly sprang up, pre- 
senting as good a skirmish line as any body of soldiers 
could form, and poured a murderous fire on the party, kill- 
ing Smith and severely wounding Amos Chapman, Har- 
rington and myself." 

chapman's heroism. 

Once within the slight protection of the buffalo wallow 
a moment's respite came. It was now known that Woodall, 
Harrington, and Roth had been wounded, and Smith, who 
had fallen outside, was thought to be dead. In a little 
while, however, he was seen to move, and these brave men 



CHAPMAN TO THE RESCUE. 



359 



at once thought of his peril. How was it to be done? 
The Indians were about them on all sides. To leave him 
where he was, was certain death ; to attempt, his rescue 
seemed almost as certain destruction to him who should 
attempt the gallant feat. The heroic Chapman volunteered 
for the attempt, and I will let him tell the story of his 
noble act in his own quaint and graphic way. Turning to 
his comrades the brave scout said : " Now, boys, keep those 
infernal red-skins off of me, and I will run down and pick up 
Smith, and bring him back before they can get at me." 
Laying down his rifle, he sprang out of the buffalo wallow, 
ran with all speed to Smith, seized and attempted to shoulder 
him. 

" Did any of you ever try to shoulder a wounded man ? " 
asked Chapman, when telling the story. " Smith was 
not a large man, one hundred and sixty or seventy 
pounds, but I declare to you that he seemed to weigh a 
ton. Finally I laid down and got his chest across my back, 
and his arms around my neck, and then got up with him. 
It was as much as I could do to stagger under him, for 
he couldn't help himself a bit. By the time I had got 
twenty or thirty yards, about fifteen Indians came for me 
at full speed of their ponies. They all knew me, and 
yelled, ' Amos ! Amos ! We have got you now ! ' I 
pulled my pistol, but I couldn't hold Smith on my back 
with one hand, so I let him drop. The boys in the buffalo 
wallow opened on the Indians just at the right time, and I 
opened on them with my pistol. There was a tumbling of 
ponies, and a scattering of Indians, and in a minute they 
were o-one. I got Smith up again and made the best possi- 



36o 



A SPA Ji TAN BAND. 



ble time, but before I could reach the wallow another gang 
came for me. I had only one or two shots in my pistol, so 
I didn't stop to fight, but ran for it. When I was in about 
twenty yards of the wallow, a little old scoundrel that 
I had fed fifty times, rode almost on to me and fired. 
I fell, with Smith on top of me, but as I didn't feel 
pain, I thought I had stepped into a hole. The Indians 
couldn't stay around there a minute ; the boys kept it red- 
hot ; so I jumped up, picked up Smith, and got safe into 
the wallow. 'Amos,' said Dixon, 'you are badly hurt.' 
'No, I am not,' said I. 'Why, look at your leg;' and 
sure enough, the leg was shot off just above the ankle joint, 
and I had been walking on the bone, dragging the foot be- 
hind me, and in the excitement I never knew it, nor have I 
€ver had any pain in my leg to this day." 

IN DESPERATE STRAITS. 

Fierce indeed had been the conflict, and desperate seemed 
the situation of the beleaguered party. Every species of 
Indian strategy had been used to subdue their spirit and 
accomplish their overthrow, but undaunted by the dangers 
surrounding them, the brave fellows proceeded to do what 
was best, under the circumstances, and make the most of 
the one chance for life now left them ; i. e., hold their posi- 
tion until Miles, marching back along the trail, should bring 
deliverance. With their knives and hands they dug deeper 
their little fort, some working whilst the others, keeping vig- 
ilant watch, fired at such Indians as came within easy range. 
The savages, Kiowas and Comanches, the finest and bold- 
est horsemen in the world, again resorted to their favorite 



" FA/THFUL UNTO DEATH." .jgj 

tactics. Mounted on their fleet ponies, they would circle 
around the rifle-pit, coming nearer and nearer with each cir- 
cuit, and firing as they rode. But still undaunted, the white 
men held the red devils at bay. Smith, " faithful unto 
death," cheered his comrades by his heroic conduct; for 
whilst his life-blood was slowly ebbing away, he told them 
to place him — he could not move — upon the top of the rifle- 
pit, thus offering to make his suffering body a shield for 
the living, after his hands could no longer aid in the defence. 
But happily, succor was nearer at hand than dreamed of 
by the besieged. About four o'clock in the afternoon J:he 
Indians were seen to draw off, and shortly afterwards rapid 
firing was heard in the distance, and the savages were seen 
no more. A body of troops had been seen, and the Indians, 
after engaging them until nightfall, left the vicinity. Dark- 
ness fell upon a sad scene that night. Smith was dying, 
Chapman's leg was broken. Every man in the rifle-pit had 
been hit, and Dixon, alone, was not disabled. They were 
without food, and but for the blessed rain that came during 
the night they would have suffered dreadfully for water ; of 
this they had only what fell in little puddles in the pit, and 
even that which quenched the dying thirst of Smith was 
red with his own and his comrades' blood. Could they 
hold out until Miles would come, bringing food and succor? 
What they felt and what they suffered in the silent watches 
of that long, cold, rainy night, none save themselves can 
ever know. The morning broke, dark, wet, comfortless. 
Smith had died before dawn. Would the Indians return, or 
would they be left unmolested until the weary hours that 
19 



362 A SPA R TA N BA ND. 

must elapse before Miles could be expected, had dragged 
themselves away? Soon after daylight a consultation as to 
what was best to be done was held, and after considering 
all the surrounding circumstances, it was thought best that 
Dixon, the only able-bodied man left, should go back on the 
trail, meet General Miles, which it was hoped he would do 
within thirty-six hours, and apprise that officer of the con- 
dition of afTairs. In the mean time the ammunition was 
divided between Dixon and those remaining; Dixon taking 
with him on his dangerous journey on foot just four cart- 
ridges. With what was left the besieged must defend 
themselves as best they could. 

Dixon left the rifle-pit in a drizzling rain, and had pro- 
ceeded less than a mile when he saw approaching him a 
body of mounted men. Unable to determine whether they 
were friends or foes, he secreted himself in some high 
grass and awaited their coming. The newcomers proved 
to be Major Price's command, a battalion of the 8th Cav- 
alry, with whom the Indians had been engaged the evening 
before, and Dixon at once made known the state of affairs 
at the rifle-pit to the commanding officer. As they pro- 
ceeded to the buffalo wallow, Dixon walking by Major 
Price's side, that officer directed his orderly trumpeter to 
ride ahead and find the rifle-pit. Upon this trumpeter's 
saddle was rolled a red blanket, and as he came in full view 
of the party in the wallow he was taken for an Indian. 
Sergeant Woodall deliberately took aim at this man and 
fired, the ball happily missing the soldier, but killing the 
horse. 



GENERAL MILES' TRIBUTE. 353 



THE RESCUE. 



So you see there was fight left in the brave fellows still ! 

The long fight was over and the rescue was made. 
Food was given the almost famished men, and a detachment 
was sent ofY to inform General Miles of the condition of 
thino-s. General Miles was found on the Sweetwater, and 
that night Chaffee, of the 6th Cavalry, with his troop, pro- 
ceeded to the buffalo wallow. Poor Smith was buried, 
and the wounded, mounted on horses, were taken to the 
supply train, which, as had been ascertained, was camped 
on the Washita. Those were stirring times that followed, 
for the great Indian war, begun under warm summer skies, 
was terminated only the next Spring. Many gallant 
deeds were done, but as the men would gather round the 
camp-fire the long and cold winter nights, they heard no 
nobler story than that of the dead Smith and the survivors 
of the fight on the Washita. 

That celebrated Indian fighter. General Miles, U. S. 
Army, made a special report of this affair to the War 
Department, from which we make the following extract. 
Upon his recommendation the Medal of Honor was 
awarded to each survivor. 

" I deem it but a duty to brave men and faithful sol- 
diers, to bring to the notice of the highest military 
authority an instance of indomitable courage, skill, and 
true heroism on the part of a detachment from this com- 
mand, with the request that the actors be rewarded, and 
their faithfulness and bravery recognized by pensions, 



364 A SPARTAX BAXD. 

medals of honor, or in such way as may be deemed most 
fitting. . . . 

" Although enclosed on all sides, and by overwhelming 
numbers, one of them succeeded, while they were under a 
severe fire at short range, and while the others with their 
rifles were keeping the Indians at bay, in digging with his 
knife and hands a slight cover. After this had been 
secured^ they placed themselves within it ; the wounded 
walking with brave and painful efforts, and Private Smith, 
though he had received a mortal wound, sitting upright 
within the trench, to conceal the crippled condition of their 
part}' from the Indians. 

" From early morning till dark, outnumbered, twenty-five 
to one, under an almost constant fire, and at such short 
range that they sometimes used their pistols, retaining the 
last charge to prevent capture and torture, this little party 
of five defended their lives and the person of their dying 
comrade ; without food, and their only drink the rain-water 
that collected in a pool mingled with their own blood. 
There is no doubt but that they killed more than double 
their number, besides those that were wounded. The ex- 
posure and distance from the command, which were nec- 
essarily incidents of their duty, were such that for thirty- 
six hours from the first attack their condition could not be 
known. . . . 

" The simple recital of their deeds and the mention of the 
odds against which they fought ; how the wounded de- 
fended the dying, and the dying aided the wounded by 
exposure to fresh wounds after the power of action was 
gone, these alone present a scene of cool courage, heroism, 



SERGEANT KITCHEN'S ADVENTURE. 



365 



and self-sacrifice, whicli duty as well as inclination prompt 
us to recognize, but which we cannot fitly honor." 

II. AN AFFAIR WITH THE COMANCHES. 

Another episode of General Miles' campaign in Texas, in 
1874, is described by a wearer of the Medal of Honor — 
First Sergeant GEORGE K. KITCHEN,* Troop " I," 5th U. 
S. Cavalry : 

"On the morning of the 9th September, 1874, Captain 
Wyllis Lyman, 5th Infantry, with ' I ' Co. of that regi- 
ment, and a detail of twenty cavalrymen, including myself, 
of Troops 'A,* 'H,' 'I,' and ' M,' 6th U. S. Cavalry, 
left Commission Creek, Ind. Ten, to escort a wagon train 
of supplies destined for the command of General Miles, 
on the headwaters of the Red River, Texas. The General 
was at that time engaged in suppressing a rising of the 
Cheyennes and Arapahoes. 

" We pulled out from Commission Creek at 7 o'clock A.M., 
and crossed the Canadian River at 8.30 A.M. When about 
two miles from the river, and about 9 o'clock, we were sud- 
denly attacked by a large band of hostiles. 

" The train, consisting of 24 six-mule teams, was formed in 
two columns. The infantry formed line on each side of the 



* George K. Kitchen enlisted at Harrisburg, July 21, 1870 ; assigned to Co. " H," 6th 
U. S; Cavalry ; Corporal, April 2, 1872 ; Sergeant, May 2, 1872 ; Medal of Honor for 
action lasting Sept. gth to Sept. 14th, 1874. Participated in an engagement with Indians 
under Lieut. Henely, 6th Cavalry, on Sappe Creek, Kansas, April, 1875. 

Re-enlisted July 21, 1875, Troop " F," 5th Cavalry; Corporal same date; Sergeant, 
May 7, 1877. 

Re-enlisted Troop "I," 5th Cavalry, July 21, 1880. Sergeant to date from May 7, 1S77; 
ist Sergeant July 22, 1880. Discharged as ist Sergeant July 20, 1885. Character, " A most 
e.tcellent non-commissioned officer, and thoroughly trustworthy and reliable man." 

Re-enlisted Troop " I," 5th Cavalry, July 21, 18S5. Re-appointed ist Sergeant same 
date, with continuous rank. 



366 A SPARTAN BAND. 

train, and the cavalry detail, by repeated charges, strove to 
keep the Indians at a distance. 

" In this fashion the command travelled on, fighting as 
we went, until we arrived at the sand hills, about one mile 
from the Washita River, Texas. At this point, after a 
short lull in the running fight, the Indians concentrated 
their entire force, and made a vigorous and united charge 
on the train. We afterwards learned their strength to be 
between seven and eight hundred warriors. This charge 
was repulsed after a hard fight, the Indians coming to 
within 50 yards of the train, and repeatedly attempting, 
after being beaten off, to overwhelm the troops by dint of 
superior numbers. 

" The wagons were then, as it was irrfpossible to advance, 
put 'into park' as rapidly as possible, forming in an &%% 
shape. The infantry were thrown out on a skirmish line 
round the hastily formed corral, some 25 yards from the 
wagons. When this movement was completed, the little 
band of cavalry found themselves, at the end of some hard 
fighting, about 500 yards away from the skirmish line, and 
surrounded by the enemy. To regain their comrades of 
the 5th Infantry they had to charge through a mass of 
Indians, who concentrated themselves between them and 
the wagons. This was successfully done.* 

"On reaching the 'park' we secured our horses inside 
the enclosure, and were then ordered out on the skirmish 
line. 



* About this time a trooper's horse was killed under him. Sergeant Kitchen halted 
and picked up the dismounted man behind him, and managed, under a heavy fire, to carry 
bim off unhurt to the shelter of the corral.— [Editor.] 



INDIAN TACTICS. 367 

"The hostiles now divided, and about four hundred of 
them at this time made two unsuccessful charges on the 
right rear of the corral, defended by about one-half of the 
command. These charges were made in column of pla- 
toons, and the alignment was as precise and well main- 
tained as regular troops could do it. Each time they 
came up to within 40 yards of the line in admirable order, 
and only the perfect steadiness and continuous, well-direct-, 
ed, firing of our troops prevented this well conceived and 
daringly executed movement from being successful. 

" Our heavy firing, however, at last succeeded in repelling 
them in confusion from the very muzzles of our guns. 

" The enemy then, unsuccessful in storming us, took up 
position on the numerous sand hills around, some as far 
away as four hundred yards, others at about only two hun- 
dred yards, surrounding us by a complete circle. As we 
lay beneath them we were exposed to a severe and vexatious 
fire from all points, and our return fire was comparatively 
harmless. When darkness arrived, we were divided up 
into squads, and orders were given to dig rifle-pits, from 
twenty to thirty yards distant, around the corral. The en- 
emy followed our example and were occupied in intrench- 
ing themselves on the sand hills they held during the day. 
Their object now appeared to be to starve us out, as they 
knew we had no means of quenching our thirst. The 
Washita was one mile away, and the one water-hole near us 
had been inaccessible during the day, and our repeated 
attempts to get at it, at night, proved futile. Several details 
tried to reach the water, but the Indians placed a strong guard 
around it, and their fire was too well-directed to allow of 



368 



A SPARTAN BAND 



our men getting near. They would permit us to get within 
fifty yards of the hole, in fancied security, before opening 
on us, and then poured in their fire in a way which balked 
every effort of ours to reach the desired spot. In the mean 
time, a desultory fire was kept up by them from all sides 
of us. 

" Next day this fire became regular and continuous, and 
was returned by us from the rifle-pits. The Indians per- 
formed some prodigies of horsemanship in full sight of us 
and in the most daring way, right before our fire, offering 
themselves in the most reckless way as targets for our fire. 
When we learned afterwards that Comanches were amongst 
our foes, we understood the cause of these freaks ; these 
Indians being generally reckoned amongst the finest horse- 
men in the world, as they are perhaps the most showy, 
reckless and daring. One at least of every three of these 
foolhardy * braves ' was picked off by the marksmen of our 
little command, but this did not in the least prevent one of 
his comrades from at once taking his place, after the dead 
body of the first had been carried off. This was done 
always by two Indians, riding at full gallop, one on each 
side of the dead man, who was picked up by them without 
their making the slightest halt, and dragged into shelter. 

" When we first went into corral there was but a very 
Httle water amongst the command, and this was saved for 
the use of the wounded. From the 9th to the morning of 
the 14th of September, no one, except our wounded, had 
one drop of water. On the third day, when driven almost 
to despair by the torments of thirst, some men opened a 
barrel of vinegar, and undertook to drink it when sweetened 



PERIL AND PRIVATION. 369 

somewhat by sugar. It was with difficulty that they were 
prevented from swallowing too much of the mixture. One 
of the ten men whom I had in my rifle-pit drank, in spite 
of my efforts to prevent any excess, so much of this drink 
that he became delirious and very violent. We had to 
tie him hand and foot to keep him inside the pit ; he 
frothed at the mouth, bit and fought, and exhibited 
every token of insanity. It was two days before he re- 
covered from the effects. 

"The fighting, until the night of the 13th of September, 
was continued in the sam.e way, we staying in our rifle-pits, 
exhausted by heat and thirst, and returning as best we 
could the fire of the Indians, who remained in possession of 
their sand hills. 

" On the morning of the 14th we saw, with relief, the 
whole band of Indians pull out and move South. If we 
had had water we could have lasted a long time. Without 
- it we could not have stood the siege for many more days. 

" All our wounded got their hurts on the first day, except 
one trooper, who received a severe scalp wound on the last 
day. Lieutenant Lewis, 5th Infantry, was wounded in the 
knee, and afterwards, I heard, he had his leg amputated. 
We buried one sergeant, of ' I ' Co., inside the corral. The 
assistant wagon-master was wounded, and died two days 
afterwards. Him, too, we laid beside the soldier in the 
corral, with brief but impressive ceremony. 

" One-third of the horses were killed, and about one-half 
of the mules. When we started again on our march, on 
the morning of the 15th, having remained one day to 
'straighten up,' a few of the wagons had four mules to 



3/0 



A SPARTAN BAND. 



draw them, out of their original six ; the rest had only 
two 

" Captain Lyman, about a week after the action, went 
over the ground, and in one ravine counted forty fresh 
mounds, graves of the Indians slain, but their loss in fatally 
wounded and disabled must have been much more. 

" The weather was throughout very hot, and the nights 
pitch dark. 

"We were met on the Washita River by General Miles 
and his command, and went into camp for a few days to 
^recuperate.' The rumor of this command's arrival near 
the scene of action had alarmed our opponents and been 
the cause of their sudden flight. We now learned that 
they were composed of Comanches and Kiowas united, who 
had left their reservation, on the war-path. After the 
fight with us they moved back, disheartened, we supposed, 
at their severe loss and failure to gain any plunder. At any 
rate, they kept within their bounds the rest of that year. 

" During the fight, the stench from the dead animals, our 
own and the Indian ponies, was very horrible, and added 
much to the discomfort of the men, and the danger of sick- 
ness. 

" On the third night we were corralled, the First Sergeant 
•of the infantry company came to me and asked how long 
we could stand this. I -thought then perhaps the best 
plan would be to fight our way through to the river, but 
this Avould entail the loss of the wagon-train. The First 
Sergeant (Mitchell, now ordnance sergeant at Fort Assina- 
boine) suggested we should fire the train to keep the 
Indians from getting it, and fight our way off by its 



''FOR GALLANT conduct:' 



371 



light. These suggestions, made at the time, show that, 
at one time, we felt little hope of the Indians raising 
the siege, or of our being relieved in reasonable time."* 



* For conspicuous good conduct in the above affair. General Miles recommended the 
following enlisted men of the 5th Infantry for Medals of _Honor, viz. ■ First Sergeant 
Mitchell, Sergeant Willl\m DeArmonu, Sergeant F. H. Hay ; Corporals T. H. Kellv, 
John T. W. Knox, and T. Tames : privates Thomas Kellv and Willlam Koelpin 
(now Battery F, 5th Artillery). 

On May 18, 1875, the medals were awarded by the Honorable Secretary of War, and for- 
warded to headquarters 5th Infantry, where they were distributed on July 28, 1875. 




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372 




PRIVATE WILLIAM EVANS, 
SEVENTH U. S. INFANTRV 



A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 

HAVE you ever thought what a sensation it would make 
if a detachment of United States Infantry and Cav- 
airy, made up of men suddenly taken from the duty of the 
moment, were to appear on that busy thoroughfare, Broad- 
way, to illustrate in panoramic fashion the Army as it is on 
the frontier? To nine-tenths of the people the nature of 
our military service on the far-away prairies, or at the foot 
of the rugged " Rockies," could in no other way be so dis- 
tinctly set forth. 

We will take our places on the steps of the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel and note the features of the procession. 

A post commander at the head of the column : fortu- 
nately for him, he has been making his daily informal in- 
spection of the post and vicinity and is mounted; he is 
nearing the retiring age, but is well preserved, rotund and 

373 



374 ^ SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 

bald, with stiff Rebellion Burnside to crown his florid face. 
His uniform is a simple blouse, fastened by one button, 
soldier's blue trousers, and gaiters ; as a conservative field- 
of^cer of infantry, he substitutes a light switch for spurs, 
to the evident satisfaction of his well-fed cob, which ambles 
quietly along. 

The commanding officer's orderly closely follows. A 
cavalry soldier this, in natty clothing and spotless side- 
arms ; the horse, groomed like a looking-glass, suffers him- 
self to be curbed behind his jjiore staid brother of " the 
foot," but evidently longs for a gallop. 

With a free stride, but " route-step," a body of bronzed, 
athletic men approaches : the fact that they are soldiers 
cannot be concealed by a grotesque and unfamiliar dress; 
there are trousers of blue, tattered and torn, bound below 
the knee with strips of bagging, or turned up at the bot- 
toms, or pushed into the tops of cowhide boots ; there are 
shirts of all colors, open at the neck some of them, or 
with sleeves rolled to the elbow ; hats and caps of varied 
ages and patterns. Each man carries a spade or an axe or 
an adze or a sledge-hammer or a saw ; this is not a gang of 
laborers, nor is it a working party of military prisoners, but 
simply Company " L," of the — th Infantry, returning from 
its daily task of building quarters at the new post of Fort 
Barker. All drills have been suspended, and the necessary 
guard duty and roll-calls and Sunday-morning inspections 
are the only military duties performed by these soldiers 
for the last three months. Although " Uncle Sam is 
rich enough to buy us all a farm," he has frequent fits of 
false economy of this kind. 



OUR ARMY ON THE FRONTIER. 375' 

And now there comes to our ears the sharp flint-and- 
steel " click " of horses' shoes on the stony street. Four- 
score cavaliers in plainsmen's garb of buckskin, mingled 
with a dash of cavalry light-blue and yellow, with soft felt 
sombreros and boots to the knee, pass in review before the 
wondering tax-payer. The spare, soldierly man at the head 
of the column carries upon his body the scars of conflict on 
the Chicahominy; the solid little captain near the rear of 
the column has a name borne by three generations of 
American soldiers ; there are other distinguished officers,, 
so disguised by this bandit-like but most comfortable field- 
dress, that none but their men or intimate friends can rec- 
ognize them. These troops are a part of the — th U. S 
Cavalry, just starting on a campaign against the Sioux . 
when they come marching home again, their ranks will be 
somewhat thinner, their horses jaded and weary, but their 
task will have been done and well done. 

In rear of the cavalry come the " packs," patient little 
long-eared creatures, trained to carry burdens larger in bulk 
than themselves, and to follow with sure-footed sagacity 
the leader, whose tinkling bell is their guide. 

" Who are these in bright array?" Sixty mounted men 
in helmets with waving yellow plumes, buttoned, booted 
and spurred, with bright sabres, bronzed carbines, sitting 
like centaurs the snorting, curvetting chargers that spurn 
the roadway with an impatience due to idleness and oats. 
It is Troop " K," of the same regiment of cavalry whose 
curious outfit we have just noted. This troop has been 
left behind in garrison, and has been taking part in a pa- 
rade of ceremony. 



376 A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 

Three ambulances succeed the horsemen. Each is 
drawn by four nimble mules. The curtains are rolled up, 
and we can note the faces of the passengers. They are 
clad in furs, although it is not cold. They represent the 
survivors of three Arctic expeditions, and almost without 
exception they are from the cavalry and infantry — officers 
and men ; a mere handful of brave spirits, nerved and 
trained for world-wide exploration by their army service on 
the Plains. 

If the reader can imagine this Broadway spectacle, per- 
haps he may follow us to the great North-west, where, amid 
storm and wind and deep snow, a little party of cavalry is 
returning from a scout.* 

The thermometer registers 42° below ; the driving sleet, 
and the breath from mouth and nostrils, freezing upon 
mustache and beard and eyes, forms a solid mask of ice 
upon the faces of the blinded, perishing men ; far back, 
like a broad red ribbon, stretches the bloody trail, where the 
horses' feet have broken through the sharp crust of the 
snow-drift, and the exhausted animals suffer themselves to 
be urged into a barely perceptible motion by their half- 
conscious and dismounted riders ; some of whom would 
fain yield to a deadly languor, from which they can only 
be roused by flat of sabre well laid on. The column is 
steered by a compass in the hands of the leading man. 
Left to themselves, these soldiers would never reach an 
earthly destination, but with a resolute, experienced com- 
mander, and a habit of discipline and obedience to orders, 
the detachment will, ere many hours, reach the shelter of a 

* See engraving facing chapter. 



SKIRMISHERS OF CI VI LIZ A TION. 377 

cattle ranch, where they may be sure of a warm and friendly 
welcome. 

But there are other uses for the Army than to hunt the 
warlike Sioux or the treacherous Apache. Our friend the 
reader may see, as with the eye of a bird, the little encamp- 
ments of a few tents each, scattered all over the public 
domain west of the Missouri and south of the British pos- 
sessions in North America. These are the bivouacs of 
military geographers, geologists, meteorologists, telegraph 
linesmen, and others ; they are the skirmishers of civihzation, 
the outposts of settlement, the harbingers of Peace, and 
yet they are fitted out from the Department of War. 

But this is a long digression from the title of this chapter, 
which has to do with a phase of army life not yet touched 
upon. It is the narrative of a soldier — Private William 
Evans,* 7th U. S. Infantry— who won the Medal of Honor 
in gallant and important, if bloodless, service : twice taking 
" his life in his hand " as a bearer of despatches. The nat- 
ure of this service is set forth in the following document : 

" Headquarters Department of Dakota. 
" In the Field Camp at mouth of Big- Horn River, fitly 26, 1876. 
" General Field-Orders, 
''No. 5. 
" The Department Commander has recently had urgent occasion to communi- 
cate from this camp with Brigadier-General Crook, commanding a force en- 
camped on the headwaters of Powder River. The duty of carrying despatches 
between those points, through a country occupied by a large force of hostile 
Sioux, was of the most arduous and perilous nature. A scout, inspired by the 



* Enlisted at St. Louis, April 26, 1875 ; assigned to " E," 7th U. S. Inf. ; enlisted Camp 
Baker, M. T. (Co. D), Nov. 2, 1878 ; re-enlisted Nov. 2, 1883. Corporal Nov. 30, 1880. Hon- 
orably mentioned in Regimental, Department and General Field Orders for gallant service. 
Medal of Honor, August, 1876. ^ 

20 



378 ^ SOLDIER-SCO UT 'S S TOR Y. 

promise of a large reward, made the attempt but soon abandoned it as hopeless 
As a last resort, a call was made upon the troops of this command for volun- 
teers, in response to which not less than twelve enlisted men promptly offered 
their services. From among these the following named soldiers were selected : 
privates William Evans, Benjamin F. Stewart, and James Bell of Co. ' E," 7th 
Infantry. 

" On the 9th day of July they set out for General Crook's camp, which they 
reached on the twelfth, delivered the despatches, and returned, arriving in camp 
00 the 25th. 

" In making this public acknowledgment of the important service voluntarily 
rendered by these soldiers at the imminent risk of their lives, the Department 
Comniander desires to express his deep regret that at present it is not in his 
power to bestow the substantial reward which has been so well earned ; but he 
is confident that an achievement undertaken in so soldier-like a spirit, and car- 
ried so gallantly to a successful issue, will not be permitted to pass unrewarded. 
The exploit is one calculated to establish in the public mind a higher and more 
just estimate of the character of the United States Soldier. 

" TPfc Department Commander, on his own behalf and on behalf of the officers 
of this command, desires thus publicly to thank privates William Evans, Ben- 
jamin F. Stewart and James Bell, Co. ' E,' 7th Infantry, for a deed which reflects 
so much credit on the Service. 

" By command of Brigadier-General Terry, 

"Ed. W. Smith, Capt. iSth Infantry, 

^^ Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.'''' 

Following is an extract from Evans' modest statement : 
" Being requested to furnish a sketch of my services in 
the army, and any remarkable incidents that I have taken 
part in, I will give all the facts in my possession. 

AN ARMY RECRUIT. 

" I enlisted in the army on the loth day of April, 1875, i" 
St. Louis ; was sent from there to Newport, Kentucky, and 
assigned to the Seventh Regiment of Infantry. Arriving 



RECRUITS AXD HOSTILE INDIANS. 



379 



at Carroll, on Missouri River, in July, started on our march 
to Camp Baker, Montana — distance, 165 miles. 

"There were 225 recruits, among whom /(?wr rifles were 
distributed for defensive purposes. The country was full of 
hostile red-skins. A number of friendly Crow Indians rode 
with the column part of the way, and it almost made our 
hair turn gray to look at them. We recruits didn't know 
the difference between Crow and Sioux, our information 
being limited to the wooden Indian of the tobacconist; and 
the old soldiers seemed to delight in our ignorance. On 
the fourth day we reached Camp Browning, where two com- 
panies of the regiment were stationed. After dinner the 
men not on duty were permitted to enjoy themselves after 
their own fashion ; some went hunting, some to fish, and a 
number, myself included, to wash our clothes in the creek 
near by. 

"About two o'clock the camp was attacked by Indians. 
All the hunters were killed, one of the fishermen was 
wounded, and some who had gone into the woods for fuel 
had nothing to defend themselves with but axes. Those of 
us who were washing clothes escaped with our lives. We 
were entirely naked (as we had been swimming), and although 
some of the hostiles came near us they did not molest us ; 
probably taking us for squaws or lunatics. The Indians 
left, taking with them some of our cattle and horses. Lieu- 
tenant Woodruff pursued, and captured sixteen head of 
stock. We found the hunting party dead and scalped on 
the skirmish line, except one, and he had reached the foot- 
hills, getting behind a rock, where he had fired thirty-eight 



38o A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 

cartridges (as we found the empty shells) before he was 
killed. 

" This Avas not a cheerful first experience for us, especially 
as we expected to march 200 miles further without any 
weapons. But we were not annoyed again, thanks to our 
friends, the Crows, who attacked the Sioux the next day 
and whipped them. 

WINTER ON THE PLAINS. 

" I soon had a taste of winter campaigning ; not winter 
according to the almanac, but as it is to be found on the 
Plains. Our company, ' E,' Captain Clifford, was ordered on 
the Yellowstone Expedition, March 17, 1876. Left Camp 
Baker, thermometer 30° below zero, with snow three feet 
deep. First day out all our wagons rolled down White's 
Gulch Divide. Spent all day getting them right side up. 
With two of the company badly frozen, travelled three days 
through snow three feet deep. Arrived at Fort Ellis ; was 
left behind to drive for Fort Shaw command, my company 
going ahead as escort to wagons. One of our men de- 
serted on road but was captured in Bozeman, and I was 
ordered to hitch up team and take the deserter and catch 
up with my company. Left the fort at three o'clock in 
afternoon ; got into a snow-storm on Bridger Pass Divide. 
This divide is a part of the Rocky Mountains, and over- 
looks Fort Ellis and the beautiful Gallatin Valley ; it is 
thickly covered with pine timber, and wears a virgin 
crown of snow the year around. It is at this place that 
the Northern Pacific Railroad tunnelled through the moun- 
tain, from the Valley of the Yellowstone to that of the 



WINTER OX THE PLAINS. 38 1 

Gallatin. We had not been out long when it commenced 
to snow, one of those blizzards for which that country is 
noted. Soon lost all trace of the road and started over 
a road of our own ; this was not a success, as before we 
reached the summit the wagon stuck fast in the timber, and 
we could not get it out without .axes, which we did not 
have. It was the coldest night I ever saw. Left wagon 
next mornincr ; had to give deserter two mules and took 
two myself. Caught up with company at Quinn's Ranch, 
thermometer 42 below. On our arrival I did not know 
for some minutes whether I was alive or not. As Quinn 
sold what they term whiskey in this country, my company 
commander, Captain Clifford, ordered me, I think, about 
a quart, and it was all that saved my life. A party of 
men were sent back for the wagon ; they had a hard 
time finding it, and a harder time to get it out of the drift. 
Ever since, they have called it ' Evans' Snow Trail over the 
Moon.' 

CARRYING DESPATCHES. 

" On our arrival at old Fort Pease on the Yellowstone, the 
regimental commander. General Gibbon, desired to send 
despatches to General Terry, who was crossing overland 
from Fort Lincoln. It was necessary to travel by water, 
and, being a pretty fair boatman, the choice fell upon me. 
At that time I was a very young soldier and not much in- 
spired with the military spirit that afterwards was instilled 
into me by my company commander, the late Capt. Walter 
Clifford. If ever there was a man to train a soldier for the 
field, it was that man. Coming to me, he said : ' Evans, 



382 



A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STOJ^Y. 



you are a good boatman and, so far as I know, }-ou are no 
coward. I want you to take this trip. I do not want one 
of my men to go where I would not go myself, but the 
General will not let me go.' ' All right. Captain, tell the 
General I will go.' I and a scout (Williamson) and a com- 
rade (Stewart) started that night by moonlight. Our orders 
were to travel the stream only at night, but in this instance 
positive orders had to be disobeyed or we should have per- 
ished with hunger. Starting from the mouth of the Big 
Horn River in skiff, we proceeded down the Yellowstone 
very slowly, as we dare not use oars ; there were Indians 
on both sides of the river and we had almost to hold 
our breaths. The western bank o"f the river in many 
places is like beautiful enclosed parks, with elk, deer, 
buffalo, antelope, and other kinds of game down to the 
squirrel ; while in this part of the Yellowstone there is the 
finest mountain trout. The east bank is more mountainous, 
occasionally broken by heavily timbered bottoms. Farther 
down, between Powder River and Glendive, the scenery was 
really grand, as though we were sailing through a city in 
ruins, with the beautiful rounded peaks running up to the 
clouds like church spires. The ground was covered with pet- 
rified wood, shells and fish. I was almost afraid to stop 
there for fear of being turned to stone. The same night we 
ran past an Indian camp and were nearly given away by 
their dogs, who howled and barked while we pulled like 
good fellows until morning, when, finding we were not pur- 
sued we laid to under some willows and took a nap. The 
second night out, after running into various sloughs and 
carrying our boat over sand-bars, we arrived at what is now 



CARRYING DESPATCHES. 383 

known as Buffalo Rapids. In running the rapids in the 
dark we ran against the rocks and smashed our boat. 

" We, however, succeeded in landing with our rifles and 
one can of peaches ; all the rest being lost, and not knowing 
how far we had to go, we sat down, rested and ate the 
can of peaches. We arrived at Glendive Creek about three 
o'clock P.M., and there met Colonel Moore with four com- 
panies. Sixth Infantry. One incident of our trip that made 
us ' feel strange around where we lived,' was the sight of 
three black-tail deer standing directly in line with each other, 
and we three hungry men stood looking at them without 
daring to fire a shot. 

" Colonel Moore kindly sent his own scouts on with the 
despatches, returning two days afterward with the answer. 
We volunteered to return with answer, but Colonel Moore 
sent his own scouts, as he did not seem to put much confi- 
dence in soldiers carrying despatches. Those same scouts 
talked so much about Indians, and what they should do in 
case of an attack, that they scared each other almost to 
death before leaving. As Captain Powell and the sergeant- 
major were present, I offered to bet $10 they would be back 
before morning, which bet the sergeant-major accepted, and 
lost. The first thing we saw at reveille were the scouts 
returning without either ammunition or rations ; they said 
they had run into Indians and had thrown everything away. 
I went up to Colonel Moore and told him if he would trans- 
fer the vouchers to me I would carry back the answer. The 
steamer ' Far West ' coming up the river, we all got on 
board and went up as far as Powder River, Colonel Moore 
giving me his own horse. I was just in the saddle when I 



3 84 ^ SOLDIEK-SCO UT'S S TOR Y. 

espied the first boat coming down, which was the advance 
of my own command ; thereby losing my $250, which was 
on the vouchers. 

AN ARMY COURIER. 

" After both commands joined, nothing occurred worth 
relating, until after the Custer battle, which happened on 
June 26. After our return from that fated field to the 
mouth of Big Horn, General Terry, desiring to communicate 
with General Crook, rewards of $1200 were offered. As 
usual, citizens got the first show, and, as usual, failed, 
when General Terry called on the command for volunteers. 
Twelve men out of the command answered the call. Our 
opinions were asked in regard to routes on map, and I was 
chosen ; I suppose because I made a success of the last 
trip, or probably because I chose the most direct route on 
the map. I had my choice either to go alone, or to take 
two men with me. My company commander decided for 
me that I should take two men with me, and also that they 
should be of my own company ; those that he knew he 
could trust. We were furnished by Captain Clifford with 
all we had in line of equipments, field glasses, compass, 
maps, and, above all, his own experiences in cases of emer- 
gency, which were very useful. Crossing the river at dark 
on steam-boat, with one company of cavalry as escort to 
come with us 12 miles, as the Indians were pretty thick 
around the bank of the river, we proceeded up Tullick's 
Forks until about 9 o'clock, when Lieutenant Roe, Second 
Cavalry, returned. My orders on leaving the camp were 
that, w^hichever way any two of the party wanted to go 



''KEEP COOLr 385 

in case of dispute, tliat tlie tiiird sliould be compelled to 
comply ; also to travel as little as possible in daytime ; but 
on all trips of that kind you have got to use your own 
judgment to a certain extent. 

" We travelled all night. Our horses becoming tired, we 
dismounted behind the largest hill we could find, so Ave 
could look the country over at daylight and also rest the 
horses for whatever the day might bring forth. 

" Not seeing anything stirring, we kept on until we struck 
the Rosebud Divide. Going down the mountains into the 
canon, we found the very spot where the Indians buried 
their dead, the first camp they made after they fell back 
from the Custer battle. The Indians were buried on posts 
set in the ground with poles on the top ; they were wrapped 
in white cotton sheeting which had blood-stains on it, prov- 
ing that those Indians had been wounded and taken along 
that far, when they died. 

" A CLOSE CALL." 

" We dismounted and had counted about 30 dead Indians, 
when around the bend of the stream came the head of a 
herd of ponies, driven by about sixty hostile Indians. 

" As fortune would have it, we were at the bottom of a 
ravine in the caiion, and it was there Captain Clifford's ad- 
vice came in good — ' Keep cool.' We consulted a moment, 
and came to the conclusion that it was no good running away, 
so when the head of the herd came along we very quietly 
led our horses into the herd and travelled along with them 
until it became dark, when it did not take us long to get 
out of that vicinity. This was the closest call we had on 



3S6 ^ SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 

the trip, though we were badly scared the same night, or 
about two o'clock in the morning. It was pitch dark, and 
raining as it had never rained before ; and as the horses 
could travel no longer, we dismounted. We took our lar- 
iats and tied them around us and let the horses feed. We 
could not have been more than 15 minutes in the place 
when we were all asleep ; the horses getting scared, tried to 
run away and pulled us in three different directions. You 
may guess we were frightened, but did not call out, as we 
dare not. It took us half an hotr to find each other, when 
Ave proceeded on our way and found out afterwards that it 
was Crook's old battle-ground we had laid down in, and the 
wolves eating dead mules that frightened the horses. We 
left the cafion at daybreak and branched off on Ash Creek, 
a tributary of Tongue River, where we struck Crook's trail. 
Following up the trails was where the first dispute arose. 
About 4 P.M. we saw two different smokes at the foot of 
Big Horn Mountains. We were about thirty miles away at 
the time. Taking out the map we found out in which di- 
rection Goose Creek ran, where we expected to find Crook's 
camp. Then Stewart and I decided to take the left-hand 
smoke, as it was the most direct to Goose Creek ; Bell 
deciding to go the other way. So we failed to obey orders 
in so far as we let him go. He started and went about a mile 
and came galloping back with the very natural question, 
' But I have no despatches ; what will I do if it happens to 
be the camp ? ' ' Well, if you insist on going, tell the Gen- 
eral that we expected' to find him on Goose Creek, and that 
if he is not there, that he will find us in Fetterman ; that our 
hard tack has given out, and that this command is on half 



GENERAL CROOK'S CAMP. 38/ 

rations long enough.' 'Well,' he says, 'you can give that 
message to the General yourself ; I guess I will go aiong 
with the crowd ; ' and as it happened, he was wise, as he 
would have walked right into the Indian camp. We trav- 
elled all night, and about nine o'clock saw the glad sight of 
canvas spread, but were not close enough to tell whether 
Indian tepees or soldiers' tents. Keeping right on we were 
rewarded with finding tents, and were very lucky that we 
were not one hour earlier or we would never have reached it 
alive, as the Indians had attacked the camp that morning, 
burning the prairie and driving the encampment across 
Goose Creek, leaving some of the Third Cavalry mess-kits 
behind. When we arrived and saw it we did not know 
what to do, as we could not see the camp for smoke, but 
concluded to go ahead,— generally the best thing to do in 
Indian warfare. 

"It was a great surprise to the officers and men when they 
saw us arrive, as they did not think it possible for any white 
men to be in that vicinity, and still a greater surprise when 
they heard that General Custer was killed, with all his men. 
We being tired and wanting rest. General Crook attached 
us to H Co., 9th Infantry, and ordered me to report to him 
next morning. But there was little rest for the weary in 
that camp, as there were present five or six reporters of 
prominent papers. Between them and the officers and sol- 
diers, we got no sleep until near midnight. The camp was 
attacked about eleven at night, we sleeping in the First Ser- 
geant's tent. When he left the tent to form company, he 
asked us if we would go along. I turned over and said, 
' What do you say, boys, will we go, or take our chances 



388 A SOLDIER-SCOCT'S STORY. 

sleeping?' Stewart said, 'Let us go to the next world 
asleep, if we have to go,' and we were asleep in a second 
and did not hear any more of the fight, which lasted over 
one hour, as we were told next morning. 

" When we left General Terry's command there were three 
Crow Indians sent out in a different direction, in case we 
should not be able to get through. They arrived in General 
Crook's camp three days after us. After asking in regard 
to trails crossed and Indians seen en route, the General asked 
me if w^e would volunteer to return with an answer, giving 
us our choice ; telling me both commands were going to 
join, and saying if we did not like to return, he would send 
the Indians. Bell's horse dying the day we arrived in 
camp, he could not come, so Stewart and I volunteered to 
return. He entrusted his despatches to me, sending the 
three Crow scouts with us. We left the command at dark 
and had proceeded but a little way when the Indians called 
a halt, and commenced eating their five days' rations, which 
did not take them long. Not being satisfied, one of them, 
' Buffalo Calf ' by name, came over to where our haver- 
sacks were laying on the ground, and picked them up and 
walked off ; they ate the contents of them, as well as their 
own, not paying any attention to our remonstrances. We 
then made up our minds that when we arrived in a country 
where we dare fire a shot, that there would be three more 
' good Indians ' ; but a lucky accident happened which 
saved them and also satisfied us. We travelled two nights 
and one day. At about noon on the second day we arrived 
at Custer's battlefield and there saw a calf, the only game 
we saw in the country on the trip. The Indians w^ere laugh- 



HUNTING A DINNER. 3 §9 

ing at us. Our eyes were sticking out of our heads with 
hunger. When I saw that calf I dismounted, and would 
have shot if the world was coming to an end ; but the In- 
dians commenced gesticulating for me to stop and they 
would get the calf, which they did, by running it down. 
Well, you ought to have seen us watching that calf, with 
our guns in ouf- hands. We were bound to temper their 
appetites on this occasion. Whether they took the hint or 
not, they acted like gentlemen, cooking the best parts of it 
first for us and then filling our haversacks to make up for 
our rations, and having lots of fun at our pitiable condition 
and looks. There was nothing more happened, on our trip 
back, of any moment. 

*' When we arrived at Yellowstone our camp had moved 
down river, which was a disappointment to us, made up, 
however, when we arrived there, by the welcome we received 
from both officers and men. There being no steam-boat up 
at the time, we could not get our horses across the river just 
then. The steamer ' Far West ' came up that night. It 
was commanded by Captain Grant Marsh, the brave man 
who ran his boat up the river for Custer's wounded soldiers, 
making the remark that he would go there if he had to 
take her overland : which he did the bigger part of the way. 

" Not liking to leave the horse that had carried me so far, 
across the river to be eaten up by buffalo gnats, I went to 
General Gibbon and requested him to get the steam-boat to 
go for him ; the General told me to go to Captain Marsh 
myself, that he would go for me if I asked him. Captain 
Marsh was at the head of the table at a dinner given to 
some of the officers and tourists that were aboard his boat 



390 



A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 



when I made the request. Pulling me into his cabin he 
made the remark to his guests that there was no service, 
either he or his boat could perform, that I was not wel- 
come to ; drinking my health, and at the same time order- 
ing steam up. General Gibbon made me a present of the 
horse for my devotion to him. 

" Headquarters yxH Infantry, 

"Camp Mouth of Rosebud, M. T., 
"General Orders, , August 5, 1876. 

" No. 14. 

" In communicating to the regiment General Orders No, 5, Department of Da- 
kota, the regimental commander desires to express his obligation to privates 
Evans, Stewart and Bell for the gallant and important services rendered. In 
doing so, he recalls the fact with pride that this is the second time during the 
operations of this summer that privates Evans and Stewart have volunteered 
to carry important despatches at the imminent risk of their lives, and he con- 
gratulates them that they were as successful in the second effort as in the first. 
Such conduct cannot fail to reflect great credit on these soldiers and the organ- 
ization to which they belong. 

" By order of Colonel John Gibbon. Levi F. Burnett, 

" \st Lieut, and Adjt. Jth Infantry.'" 





LITTLE WOLF AND HIS CAPTOR. 
(the late captain CLARK, 2D U. S. CAVALRY.) 



391 




SERi.t^Nl \\ ILLI VM B. LEW lb, 
THIRD U. S. CAVALRY VOL. 



HUNTING LITTLE WOLF. 



THE Northern Cheyennes being unhappy and dissatisfied 
on account of sickness, caused by the strange ch'mate of 
Indian Territory, where they were sent by the Interior De- 
partment, had traversed the State of Kansas during the 
autumn of 1878, desolating happy homes and committing 
many outrages on their path to their old home in the North. 
After a close pursuit by the troops of three departments 
they divided into two parties. A portion of them, under 
Chief "Dull Knife," consisting of one hundred and forty- 
nine Indians and one hundred and forty ponies, were cap- 
tured in the sand hills of Nebraska by the command of 
Captain Johnson, 3d' Cavalry, who had two Sioux guides, 
Lone Bear and Eagle Pipe. Their arms and ponies were 
taken away, but the prisoners said tl],ey would die rather than 

392 



DESPERATE PRISOiVERS. -,(.-, 

be taken back to Indian Territory. When told they must 
go to Fort Robinson, and regarding this as a step toward 
the hated Indian Territory, they began digging rifle-pits 
and a fight seemed inevitable ; but through the coolness and 
judgment displayed by the ofificers it was avoided and they 
yielded peaceably, were taken to Camp Robinson through a 
snow-storm, and there confined in an empty barrack. 

The other party, under " Little Wolf," escaped by scatter- 
ing in the sand hills, where a dense snow covered their traih 
and though the pursuit was kept up till numbers of the 
soldiers were frozen, it was fruitless. 

Remaining in confinement from October till January, 
closely guarded by sentinels on all sides of the barracks, Dull 
Knife's band was notified that the Interior Department had 
directed them to be returned to Indian Territory. The few 
who were willing to go and began to make preparations for 
departure were forcibly detained in the prison-room by 
those who dreaded punishment for their misdeeds, and were 
determined to die rather than be taken back South again. 

THE INDIAN FUGITIVES. 

Wild Hog, a bad Indian and the principal disturber, was 
arrested and securely ironed January 9, after a very severe 
struggle, in which a soldier, one of the guard, was stabbed. 

The Indians in the prison-room immediately barricaded 
the doors and windows to conceal their movements ; began 
tearing up the floor, and made rifle-pits commanding all the 
entrances. Some carbines and pistols, as well as ammunition 
in plenty, had been obtained from the Sioux, at the agency 
near, who were secretly friendly to them, and being in many 



394 



HUNTING LITTLE WOLF. 



instances related by marriage had been allowed to visit 
them. Squaws had undoubtedly concealed the articles in 
their blankets and clothes, thus passing the guard. The 
barrack was now in such a condition that for any white man 
to enter was certain death ; six sentries were posted around 
the building. About ten o'clock on the night of January lo, 
shots were fired from the windows, killing two sentinels and 
wounding the corporal in the guard-room. The Indians 
then burst from all the windows in a I'ush for " liberty or 
death," securing the arms and ammunition of the disabled 
sentinel?. The garrison gave chase immediately, the Indians 
retreating toward a creek near the post and keeping up a 
constant fire on the troops. All refused to surrender when 
called upon to do so. Thirty-two Indians were killed and 
seven were captured ; the remainder were pursued, and at 
a point twelve miles from the post intrenched themselves 
strongly, and having plenty of ammunition, probably con- 
cealed for their use by friends, by previous arrangement, 
were able to keep the troops at a respectful distance. 

The next day Lieutenant Simpson, 3d Cavalry, had two 
skirmishes with them and lost a corporal killed and one man 
wounded. ' The next day they again strongly intrenched 
themselves in a place about twenty miles from Ft. Robinson. 
Shells were fired into their fortification, but during the night 
they succeeded in escaping under cover of darkness. Forty- 
five Indians now remained, evidently bent on joining Little 
Wolf's band, and preferring death to recapture. 

General Sheridan had telegraphed orders to the command- 
ing officer at Ft. Laramie, Wyo., " to send all his cavalry to 
capture or kill this band." After hard marching by day and 



BROUGHT TO BAY. 395 

night, this command had again, January 20, driven the In- 
dians to intrench themselves in a high, rocky peak, several 
hundred feet above the mountains through which they had 
been chased, commanding the surrounding ground on three 
sides on which the troops must advance, and almost perpen- 
dicular to the valley on the other. Coming upon them sud- 
denly, after hours of climbing up and down the steep moun- 
tains the Indians had chosen as more difficult to follow them 
in, the command was greeted with a volley; fortunately no 
one was hurt, but on the command being withdrawn to 
cover, a captain and two of his men were found missing. 
No one knew where the Indians were concealed, or from 
which direction to expect the next volley. Another captain, 
selecting several of the best shots in his troop, crawled warily 
forward to relieve the beleaguered captain and his men, if 
alive, or to recover their bodies and prevent mutilation ; and 
by calling out, thus making their whereabouts known to the 
hostiles as well as their friends, found to their joy that they 
were still alive, and concealed in a pit in the rocks to which 
they had betaken themselves for cover, not knowing which 
direction the Indians were in. Warning their friends as to 
their intention of keeping up a hot fire on the Indian posi- 
tion to keep the Indians down, their friends were enabled 
to slowly work their way out of their awkward predicament. 
It being impossible to dislodge the Indians, and darkness 
coming on, accompanied by a snow-storm, guards were posted 
on three sides of the rocky bluff to prevent escape. The 
command in the valley a mile below them, having heard 
the firing, had gone into camp at the foot of the wall of 
rock on the other side, so that their position, though im- 



396 HUNTING LITTLE WOLF. 

pregnable, was nearly surrounded, and it was thought the 
Indians couldn't get away this time. 

ELUDING PURSUIT. 

At dawn, the watchers, who had paced wearily around the 
eyry all night, were surprised to see the command at the 
foot of the wall moving across the valley below them ; shots 
were fired, flags waved, but all means of signalling failed to 
stop them, and a messenger could only reach them by a trail 
fully fifteen miles around. Had the Indians, or a part of 
them, escaped during the night? The commanding ofificer 
announced that it would be foolish to expose the whole com- 
mand to a murderous fire while climbing the bluff, and that 
he wouldn't order anybody to throw his life away in discov- 
ering whether the Indians were still there, but if two or three 
men would volunteer, they could go. Hardly were the 
words spoken when Sergeant William B. Lewis of B Troop 
stepped up, and with his heels together, saluted, and said'. 
" I'd like to go. Sir." Two more men volunteered, and after 
receiving instructions as to the signals to be used in the 
event of any discoveries, started forward, carbines in hand 
and belts full of cartridges, to prevent the useless sacrifice of 
many lives. Stealthily moving from cover to cover, and 
climbing, climbing, till lost to the view of the command, they 
struggled upward, liable at each new step to be greeted with 
a volley that w^ould doom them to lonely graves, and possi- 
bly a report in the papers that " a sergeant and two privates 
were killed." After a seemingly long while a shot is fired. 
Has one of the men been killed ? Anxious guesses are made 
as to what it means. Sergeant Lewis has gotten in the first 



SERGEANT LEWIS RECONNOITRES. 397 

shot at a wounded warrior, unable to travel, but very wide 
awake and thoroughly able to use his cocked rifle, which he 
holds ready for use on one of the Sergeant's companions, 
the noise of whose movements has alarmed him. A dull 
thump and a limp fall convinces the Sergeant that the 
" bullet has found its billet." He moves forward warily 
now, as there may be others equally eager for a shot at him ; 
he soon discovers, however, that this was the only one, and 
climbing to a point whence the command, which is eagerly 
watching for him, can see him he waves his hat to let 
them know that the Indians have fled. The commands, 
" Mount I " and " Forward ! " are promptly obeyed, and the 
cavalcade moves out at a trot to join their friends in the 
valley, whose movements are now understood ,* horses being 
left for the Sergeant and his men to come up with. The 
Indians were making for the Red Cloud Agency and friends. 

A FAINT TRAIL. 

The trail which the Indians made after making their peril- 
ous descent was almost obliterated by the snow which fell 
during the night, and they counted on its making it impossi- 
ble to follow them, and leaving the " sojers " at a loss to know 
where they had gone ;^but Captain Wessells had at dawn dis- 
covered the faint trail, and his sharp-eyed trailers followed 
it diligently till he overtook the Indians on the 22d, in- 
trenched in a circular gully caused by a water-spout, on a 
knoll which commanded the surrounding ground, and which 
they materially strengthened by judicious digging with their 
knives. 



398 HUNTING LITTLE WOLF. 



SAVAGE DESPERATION. 



Captain Wessells surrounded their position with his 
four troops of cavalry, and, with an interpreter, crawled 
forward toward their breastwork and raised a white flag, 
the meaning of which is understood by almost all Indians. 
He told the interpreter to tell the Indians he didn't want to 
hurt them ; he told them that the soldiers were their friends, 
but had to do what the "Great Father" ordered, and that 
the soldiers must either take them back to Fort Robinson 
or kill them all. For answer, a volley was fired, which 
knocked off the interpreter's hat. Captain Wessells then, 
seeing that the Indians were desperate and would not lis- 
ten to him, ordered a charge. The men dismounted, 
rushed up the open space surrounding the pit, and dis- 
charged their weapons in the faces of their enemies, but 
were forced to retire, leaving Captain Wessells wounded 
in the head and bleeding. 

Lieutenant Chase, seeing that he was not dead, picked 
him up, and endeavored to carry him out of danger, but 
was promptly notified that, being next in command, he 
must take charge. 

The interpreter was again used, with as little success as 
before, and another charge was made. After the third 
trial, failing to effect anything, the interpreter swore that 
he wouldn't risk his life again in such foolishness. Seeing 
that the Indians were desperate, and meant to die there, 
repeated charges were made, till, no more resistance being 
offered, the pit was examined, found full of dead, and nine 
Indians were captured, three of whom were wounded. Our 



A PLEASANT CEREMONY. 



399 



old friends of the mountain-top rode up too late for the 
fight. 

Burying the dead and rigging travois for the wounded 
the command started back to their garrisons, mourning 
their dead comrades and the stern necessity which had 
compelled them to kill all the occupants of the pit, who 
preferred death to recapture ; and after facing death in one 
form, now looked at it through another, through the bitter 
cold of a Wyoming January. 

AWARDING THE MEDAL. 

The garrison of Fort Laramie is in gala dress this April 
evening ; what does it all mean ? The call for " Dress 
Parade ! " has been sounded, the band plays, line is formed. 
The Adjutant, having presented the regiment, is directed 
by the Colonel to, " Publish the orders, Sir," faces about 
and reads the following : 

" Hdqrs. Ft. Laramie, Wyo. Ty. 
" Orders, Ai^ril 17, 1SS6. 

'■'■No. 21. 
" The Congress of the United States having conferred upon Sergeant \Vm. B. 
Lewis of Company B, 3d Cavalry, a ' Medal of Honor,' for bravery exhibited 
in an affair with hostile Indians near Bluff Station, Wyo. Ty., on January 20 
and 22, 1S79, the same will be delivered to him on parade this evening, and 
will be worn by him on all dress occasions. 

".By order of Major Evans. 

"(Signed) Jno. C. Thompson, 

" \st Lt. and Adjt. 31/ Cavalry, 
" Post Adjutant." 

Sergeant Lewis being directed to step forward, does 
so: the Colonel pins the Medal on his breast, and with a 



400 HUNTING LITTLE WOLF. 

few kind words excuses him. The Adjutant commands, 
** Parade is dismissed ! " joins the officers in the march to 
salute the Colonel, and he, as well as every other officer in 
that line, as it halts and salutes, would brave any danger to 
wear deservedly the Medal just delivered •, while the men in 
ranks feel a thrill of pride in the Sergeant for his gallantry, 
and gather about him on being dismissed, to look upon, and 
reverently touch, his Medal. 

A BLOODLESS VICTORY. 

Lieut. William P. Clark, the officer selected by the De- 
partment Commander to capture the remnant of the desper- 
ate band whose fate has already been described, was a sub- 
altern of the Second Cavalry, and had for a number of years 
made the study of Indian character and customs a specialty, 
and was greatly respected by both savage and civilized 
men. He was young, handsome, brave, and straightforward, 
and the sequel proved the wisdom of his selection. In com- 
mand of a squadron of his regiment and some trusted In- 
dian scouts, the hostiles were soon overhauled. Lieutenant 
Clark says in his report : 

" The next morning I struck an old camp of the hostiles, 
two days old, after I had marched some three miles ; and 
about two miles further, two of my Cheyenne scouts met 
me, bringing three of the hostiles with them ; said they 
went into camp during the night, and had delivered my 
terms, which the hostiles said they, would accept. The 
three Cheyennes, brought to me, corroborated this state- 
ment, but desired me to go into camp where I was, 
and their village would move over and join me ; that if I 



-' I VHl TE HA T'S" DIPL OMA C Y. 40 1 

marched up to their camp, the women and children might 
be frightened and there might be some trouble. I decHned, 
of course, to do anything of this sort, but selected the two 
head-men, Brave Wolf and Two Moon, of my Cheyenne 
scouts, to ride on ahead and renew, briefly, kindly and 
firmly, my terms, and bring Little Wolf out to me as I ap- 
■ proached the village with my command. 

" This the scouts did, and Brave Wolf added to the mes- 
sage in delivering it, ' I love the soldiers at Keogh ; I go 
with them to fight all their enemies, and if you will not 
listen, you will force me to fight my own people, for you. 
are my kinsfolk.' 

" Little Wolf met me about half a mile from his camp, and 
said he would accept the terms offered by my scouts, and that 
he was' glad to meet me again. I marched my command 
to within one hundred yards of the village, which was in a 
natural fortress, — and they had strengthened it by breast- 
works of stone and dirt, — and put my forces in the next best 
and strongest position about there, both for their protec- 
tion and to attack, in case there should be any necessity for 
such a measure. After about an hour, to allow the excite- 
ment to wear away and to give my Cheyenne scouts time to 
talk the matter over with them, I went over to the camp, 
taking off my arms to show them that I had confidence in 
them, and briefly told them in council what they must do, as 
far as I was concerned ; that I had told my scouts to give 
them no lies and I hoped they had done as I had told them ; 
that the guns and ponies must be given up. This was the 
price of Peace, and they must pay it. I wanted the guns 
then, and would take the ponies when we reached Keogh; 



402 



HUNTING LITTLE IVOLF. 



that I was truly and heartily glad we had arranged this 
matter without loss of life on either side ; they had ears 
and sense ; they must listen and use their reason ; there 
were many troops and Indian scouts in the country, and I 
thought they were wise to surrender. 

"Little Wolf said, in reply, 'Since I left you at Red 
Cloud we have been South, and have suffered a great deal 
down there. Many have died of diseases which we have 
no names for. Our hearts looked and longed for this 
country where we were born. There are only a few of us 
left, and we only wanted a little ground where we could 
live. We left our lodges standing, and ran away in the 
night. The troops followed us. I rode out and told the 
troops we did not want to fight ; we only wanted to go 
North, and if they would let us alone we would kill no one. 
The only reply we got was a volley. After that we had to 
fight our way, but we killed none A\ho did not fire at us 
first. My brother, Dull Knife, took one-half of the band 
and surrendered, near Camp Robinson. He thought you 
were still there and would look out for him. They gave 
up their guns, and then the whites killed them all. I am 
out in the prairie, and need my guns here. When I get 
to Keogh I will give you the guns and ponies, but I cannot 
give up the guns now. You are the only one who has 
offered to talk before fighting, and it looks as though the 
wind, which has made our hearts flutter for so long, would 
now go down. I am very glad we did not fight, and that 
none of my people Or yours are killed. My young men 
are brave, and would be glad to go with you to fight the 
Sioux.' 



INDIAN SIGN LANG UA GE. 40 3 

" One or two others followed with similar remarks. They 
were suspicious, and the idea of giving up guns, at once, 
startled them, and in the fear of this, to them, immediate 
danger, forgot the future, and failed to ask me any ques- 
tions about staying in the northern country. I therefore 
held them to the terms as long as I deemed judicious, and 
compromised on my wagons as the place of giving up 
guns, to which they agreed. I felt that from this time out 
they would camp where I told them, and I could reverse our 
present position ; and though I had no fear whatever of 
any trouble, I deemed it best to secure this advantage at 
once. I therefore told them to pack up and we would 
move out a short distance that afternoon. We moved 
about six miles and camped. I issued them some rations, 
and Dr. Sabin kindly looked after their sick and cared for 
their wounded ; and by the time we reached our wagons 
a great deal of confidence had been restored and good feel- 
ing really established. 

" While the command was out the thermometer indicated 
33° below zero. It has snowed and rained, and the ice has 
gone out of the streams, leaving them swollen, difflcult 
and dangerous to ford." 



"WHITE HAT" AND THE SIGN LANGUAGE. 

" In September, 1884, a party of army officers, cut ofT for 
a week from mail and telegraph communication, whilst pass- 
ing through the wilderness between Forts McKinney and 
Washakie, was approaching the latter post, when, late one 
night, a courier arrived, bringing despatches and mail. In 



404 HUNTING LITTLE WOLF. 

one of the letters the death of Capt. \V. P. Clark, 2d Cav- 
alry, was mentioned. A day or two afterward the courier, 
who was the Post guide and interpreter at Washakie, told 
us something which excited great curiosity and surprise. A 
few days before leaving, he was riding some miles from the 
Post when he met an Indian, who, without uttering a word, 
and by means of tJic sign language alone, told him that Cap- 
tain Clark was dead ! The Indian had heard the news at 
the Agency, and imparted it to a man of whose language he 
could not speak a word. Now that Indians, like deaf-mutes, 
could communicate by ' signs ' we all know, but here was 
an unexpected QVQnt, occurring thousands of miles a.\w2iy, and 
yet this Indian, without using his tongue at all, was en- 
abled to communicate it to another. The assertion was at 
first startling. Captain Clark, although known in person to 
many of the Plains Indians, could be known by his name to 
the very few capable of speaking English, but those who 
did know him must have some way of designating him, and 
here was the key to the whole mystery. Indians designate 
each other by some attribute of the person, or by some in- 
cident in the life of the person referred to. Captain Clark, 
while serving with Indian scouts, Avore a white felt hat, and 
hence was known as ' the Chief with the White Hat.' His 
proficiency in the sign language was such as to make him a 
marked man among them, and hence it was easy for an 
Indian to designate him as ' the Chief of the White Hat, 
who talked so well with his hands.' Of course, if the man 
spoken to had not known of Captain Clark he could not 
have guessed who was alluded to, nor indeed could you or I 
know who was alluded to when Washington's name was 



GENERAL GIBBON'S TESTIMONY. 405 

mentioned, if we had never before heard of him. All can 
understand how the person once being designated, it was 
an easy matter for the Indian to state by signs that he had 
gone to sleep, died or ' gone under.' 

" The distinguished ofificer, whose death was in this way 
spread amongst the people who held him in high regard, 
left behind him a lasting monument of his skill, industry 
and untiring energy. His book on the 'sign languao-e ' ex- 
hibits not only these qualities, but deep and careful re- 
search." " 

* Genera! John Gibbon, U. S. h.^xxx Journal limitary Service Institution U. S. 





THE LATE MAJOR T. T. THORNBURGH 
406 



BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 




T 



HE chronicles of the 
contests between 
the red and white men 
of North America are 
thrilling stories of hu- 
man fortitude, self-sacri- 
fice and military adven- 
ture. 

From the moment 
when the daring De 
Soto landed at Tampa, 
in the Land of Flowers, 
down through three 
centuries of white set- 
tlement to the latest 
Apache outrage in Ari- 
zona, our Indian annals 
abound with the details 
of smajl wars, broken treaties and bloody massacres ; and 
there is something sad in the thought that the countless 
hordes once roaming free as air, upon their own hunting- 
grounds, from Plymouth Rock to the Golden Gate, have 
dwindled, by dissipation, disease and violent death, to a few 
thousand souls. These, driven toward the setting sun, from 

407 



40S EESJEGED BY THE UTES. 

one strip of earth — one Naboth's vineyard — to another, will 
finally, perhaps from the verge of the Pacific Ocean, turn a 
last look backward ere they plunge into oblivion. The 
present savage generation is doomed. 

Its children will become citizens of the United States, 
cast a vote at elections, and share in the pleasure and pain 
of office-holding ; but the fathers — the Noble Savage of 
Cooper's novels, and the ruthless rovers of the present 
day — will have vanished from the scene. 

In the year 1879, among the most warlike tribes was that 
of the Utes, a name once given to all the Indians west of 
the Rock}' Mountains as far as Nevada, and south, includ- 
ing New Mexico and Arizona ; a name since given to the 
territory of the Mormons, known as Utah. At that time 
the four principal bands numbered about four thousand, 
of whom eight hundred were located upon a Government 
reservation, on the White River, in Northern Colorado. 

These "oldest inhabitants" had accepted certain gifts 
from the United States to be paid them annually, and had 
in turn given up all claim, to millions of acres of land. A 
very large tract had, however, been set aside for the White 
River Utes, where they might hunt, fish and graze their 
herds of ponies. These ponies are very hardy animals, and 
nearly every Indian could boast of at least twenty, as an 
evidence of wealth and social standing. 

But although their chiefs had agreed to this arrangement, 
the young men, or "bucks," were not satisfied with the 
limits of the reservation, but in small parties roamed about 
outside, among the settlers, hunting the grizzly, the moun- 
tain lion and the buffalo, for tlie skins; in doing this they 



INDIAN INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 



409 



would sometimes, to the injury of the settlers, set fire to the 
magnificent forests abounding in that region. The great 
grazing grounds of the buffalo are in the North-west, near 
the Canadian border, and in the South-west near the banks 
of the Rio Grande. Between these points, at certain times 
of the year, vast herds are in motion. Then the Indians of 
the Plains (like the Sioux), and those of the mountains (like 
the Utes) get up large hunting-parties. These two tribes 
are hereditary enemies, and fight when they meet. On the 
Plains, the Ute, who is a natural infantry soldier, is at a dis- 
advantage ; but should the Sioux horseman venture too 
near the mountains, a shot from behind an innocent-lookino- 
rock is apt to remind him of his danger, if it does not, then 
and there, put a stop to his career. 

INDIAN AGENT MEEKER. 

Upon each Indian reservation there lives a white man, 
who represents the Government and makes known, from 
time to time, the wants and condition of the Indians. In 
1879, the Agent at White River was Mr. Meeker, a kind- 
hearted, zealous man, who did not realize the fierce nature 
of his wards, but hoped to persuade the Utes to give up 
their ponies and take to ploughing, and become industrious 
citizens. He also proposed to change the location of their 
camps and of the Agency buildings. Against all this the 
majority rebelled. 

In their eyes the "buck" who had not "heap ponies" 
was of no account ; labor was ali very well for the poor 
whites, but it degraded the noble reds ; horse-racing was a 
22 



4IO BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

time-honored amusement of their people ; it improved the 
stock and trained the warrior. 

But the Agent was not discouraged. His daughter 
taught an Indian school for the few children who were 
permitted by their parents to come. Twenty-five Indians 
agreed to dig a ditch across the Agency farm for fifteen 
dollars a month, and, as the Agent reported, did it well ; but 
they stopped at the end of the first month. Some of the 
squaws were taught to milk a cow and to make butter, and 
for awhile this was a fashionable amusement ; but as the 
cows were wild when taken from the herd, and at every 
milking had to be Rareyized with straps and ropes, the 
Indians soon tired. Then Johnson, one of the sub-chiefs, 
pretended to want to become a farmer, and demanded 
wagons and farming implements and a house. He brought 
to the Agency two vicious Indian ponies (that had never 
had a white hand- nor a bit of harness leather upon them) 
to be broken by the white teamsters ; but after a fort- 
night's work by one of the employes, it was found to be 
a shrewd trick of Johnson's to fatten his ponies upon Uncle 
Sam's hay, in order to beat a rival's horses at a coming race. 

COMING EVENTS CAST SHADOWS. 

In fact, to any but the Agent the signs of coming mis- 
chief were plain. The Indians became impertinent, went 
off and on the reservation as they pleased, bought large 
quantities of cartridges for the Winchester breech-loaders 
with which they were armed, and one day in August shot 
at the Agency ploughman as he was quietly turning a 
furrow. 




OURAY. 



411 



412 



BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 



SOME INDIAN TYPES. 

Yet there were some in- 
teresting characters among 
these people. The head 
chief, '' Ouray," was a noble 
specimen of a patriarch. 
He had flocks and herds, 
and a large farm, cultivat- 
ed by Mexicans whom he 
employed. He rode about 
the country in a handsome 
" Germantown Wagon," pre- 
sented by the Governor of 
Colorado. He also had a 
substantial bank account in 
Denver, to which every 
year the Government added 
one thousand dollars, in ex- 
change for his good influence with his people. 

Some of the sub-chiefs did not come up to this high 
standard. For instance, " Ute Jack," who was a bitter 
enemy of the whites, although for a time he managed to 
conceal it ; " Piah," who was suspected of setting the woods 
on fire that the game might be driven out where he might 
kill it without too much trouble. 

"Bill" was still another bad fellow to meet in the dark 
with savage qualities well developed. He once boasted 
that no lead could kill him. A comrade kindly offered to 
test the matter. " Bill " stood up, folded his arms, and, as 




"antelope"— ouray's runner. 



A TOUGH FELLO IV. 



413 



the other aimed his rifle, gave the word " Fircf " The 
bullet went through his left side, breaking a rib, but not 
touching a vital part. "Bill" staggered slightly, put his 
hand to his side, laughed and said, " I told you lead no kill 
me." He was laid up for a couple of weeks and came out 
all right. 

One afternoon in the 
early part of September, 
Indian Agent Meeker 
was sitting at his desk, 
musing over the trouble- 
some state of affairs in 
his dominion, when the 
door opened behind him, 
and a rush of many feet 
fell upon his ear. Be- 
fore he could turn around 
he was seized by the 
shoulders, thrown down 
and severely kicked ; he 
was conscious of being 
dragged to the door of 
his office, and hearing 
voices in loud and angry tones, and then everything 
became dark. When he came to himself he was lying 
on a bed in his own house, surrounded by his family. 
The Agent, although severely shaken and hurt, realized 
that the moment had come for action ; that he was power- 
less to control the bad elements, and that he must call 
upon the army for help. Without a moment's delay he 




•BILL." 



414 ■ BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

sent the following telegram to the Commissioner in Wash- 
ington. 

"Sir: I have been assaulted by a leading chief, Johnson, forced out of my 
own house and injured badly, but was rescued by employes. It is now re- 
vealed that Johnson originated all the trouble stated in letter Sept. 8. His son 
shot at the ploughman, and the opposition to ploughing is wide. Ploutrhinw 
stops; life of self, family and employes not safe ; want protection immediately; 
have asked Governor Pitkin to confer with General Pope." 

Imagine yourself, friendly reader, upon an oasis in the 
desert, surrounded by several hundred well-armed savages, 
who regard you as an enemy, and suspect that you have 
sent for the means of punishing them. Imagine, further, 
that this spot is two hundred miles from any Government 
aid, and fifty miles from the nearest settlement, and that 
your available force consists of eight white men, embarrassed 
by the presence of helpless women and children ! If you 
can thus put yourself in his place you may realize the 
Agent's terrible plight. But the lightning was at work, 
and within forty-eight hours his appeal to the Commissioner 
of Indian Affairs had been sent to the Secretary of War, and 
orders were flashed back to the commandant at Fort Steele, 
two thousand miles from Washington, to go to White River 
and straighten out matters. 

thornburgh's march. 

The last note of the " Retreat " was dying away upon the 
early Autumn air at Fort Fred Steele, as the door of the 
commanding officer's quarters opened and Major Thorn- 
burgh, of the Fourth Infantry, appeared upon the threshold. 

If the pleasant piazza could not boast of a fig-tree, there 



MAJOR THORNBURGH. 415 

was no lack of vine, and during the hot summer days its 
grateful shade had been enjoyed by more than one roman- 
tic couple. 

The Major was a stalwart, handsome soldier in the prime 
of life, with a frank look in his dark eyes and a firm expres- 
sion of the mouth, scarcely concealed by the heavy mus- 
tache and whiskers that framed his countenance. 

He was one of the youngest of^cers of his rank in the 
Army, but although his advancement in the regular service 
had been unusually rapid, few officers were better equipped 
by education and general experience for a commission. 
He had tasted of the horrors of War as a volunteer private 
soldier, and afterward had studied the theory of the Great 
Art at West Point. After a short service as a subaltern of 
artillery, he was made a paymaster, but preferring the 
saddle and the sabre to an office chair and an official 
check-book, had availed himself of a chance to transfer to 
the Line. 

Thornburgh was not only a fine horseman, but of a won- 
derful dexterity in the use of fire-arms. On one occasion 
he nearly equalled the score of the marksman. Doctor Car-^ 
ver, at one of that expert's public exhibitions. At another 
time he made a practical use of his accomplishment by as- 
tonishing some Sioux Indians, after a council, as they were 
sneering in a half playful, half earnest way at the superi- 
ority of their Winchester breech-loaders over the soldiers' 
carbines. Picking up one of the despised weapons and 
offering to give them all the half-dollars which, when thrown 
in the air, he might fail to hit before they touched the 
ground, he commenced firing. To their amazement, nine 



4l6 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

out of ten pieces were split by his bullets ; then silver quar- 
ters were thrown, with the same result ; until, as a last test, 
" nickels " were tossed, to fare no better than the other 
coins. The Indians were deeply impressed, and as shot 
after shot took effect, grunts of wonder and approval in- 
creased, until a warrior — known as " Young-Man-afraid-of- 
his-Horses " — came forward, put out his hand, and with the 
usual Indian salutation '^ How ! " said to Thornburgh that 
they wished to give him a name which means " The-Chief- 
who-Shoots-the-Stars. ' ' 

FORT FRED STEELE. 

Fort Fred Steele, Wyoming Territory, was a military post 
of some importance on the Union Pacific Railroad, where it 
crosses the north fork of the Platte River. It was the 
nearest fort to the White River Agency, which laid nearly 
two hundred miles south of the railroad. The garrison 
consisted of one troop of cavalry and two companies of in- 
fantry. 

As the genial commander somewhat impatiently " paced 
the deck" of his veranda, a mounted soldier dashed up to 
the door of the Adjutant's office with a mail-bag, and in 
due time a portion of its contents was placed in the hands 
of the expectant ofificer. In a few minutes he called 
" Orderly!" "Yes, sir! " came the prompt response from 
the precincts of the kitchen, where Private O'Malley, com- 
bining business with pleasure, had been having a few words 
with the cook relative to the extra supper, which was one of 
the advantages of being the commanding officer's orderly at 
Fort Steele. 



r 

A TYPICAL '' regular: 
PRIVATE O'MALLEY. 



417 



Art exceptionally fine specimen of the American " regu- 
lar " Appeared and saluted. Of medium height, compactly 
built, without any surplus flesh upon his bones, thanks to 
the constant and wholesome training which a soldier on the 
frontier undergoes, Private O'Malley of the Fourth Infan- 
try carried his credentials for honesty and intelligence in 
his cleanly-shaven, bronzed visage, and in his well set up, 
erect figure ; carried after a fashion described in the tactics 
as " straight without stiffness,"— the true martial bearing 
seldom attained by the amateur. It goes without saying 
that Private O'Malley was immaculate in dress, otherwise 
he would not have been picked out that morning at guard- 
mounting ; and because of his general fitness it w^as almost 
hopeless for the other men to compete wath him. The 
Adjutant had been known to pause before two of the guard 
at inspection, in doubt as to the selection. Kelly's brasses 
were as dazzling to the eye as O'Malley's ; their clothing 
was equally fresh and well-fitting ; accoutrements perfectly 
adjusted ; arms clean as when turned out at Springfield 
Armory ;" and a competitive drill in the manual failed to 
solve the problem. The perplexed Adjutant tried another 
test : the men were sent to the office for an inspection of 
underclothing, with a provokingly spotless result. Finally, 
the Dromios in blue were tested in the duties of a military 
messenger; in an unguarded moment Kelly omitted some 
point, only to be observed through an Adjutant's micro- 
scope, and O'Malley marched off triumphantly. There was 
just enough of " the thinking bayonet " about the man for 



41 8 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

practical purposes, but it never came to the surface at the 
wrong time. 

" The Commanding Officer's compliments, Sir, and he'd 
like to see the Adjutant at his quarters," was the message 
brought by the Orderly while we have been discussing his 
good points. 

The Adjutant found his superior of^cer in the library, an 
apartment combining the comfort of a smoking-room with 
the convenience of a business office. The trophies of the 
chase and a few rare engravings which ornamented the walls 
indicated the tastes of the master of the house, while some 
exceedingly comfortable chairs and an open box of cigars 
gave an air of hospitality not, by any means, misleading. 
As the visitor entered, a noble Irish deer-hound rose from 
his place on a huge bear-skin in front of the fireplace, and 
thrust his nose forward in mute welcome. 

" Mr. Brown, I have just received orders from General 
Crook to proceed with a detachment to White River Agency 
and support the Agent, who is having trouble with the Utes. 
Lawson's troop and Price's company will go from this post, 
and two troops of the Fifth Cavalry will report from Rus. 
sell. We shall probably move about the 20th. Let all 
extra-duty men report to their companies, and get out the 
necessary orders at once." 

" Very well, sir," and, as he turned to go, the Adjutant 
said : " Do you expect any trouble at White River, Ma- 
jor ? " 

" It is hard to say; it is possible that the Agent has let 
matters drift too long. Meeker doesn't scare easily, and 
has been jealous of military interference ; and things must 



PREPARING TO MARCH. 



419 



look rather blue when he feels compelled to call for troops. 
At any rate, it will be a good tramp for us." 

" By the way, Major, I heard that a troop of the Ninth 
Cavalry has been ordered down in the vicinity of Steam- 
boat Springs, at the request of Governor Pitkin. The set- 
tlers have been getting uneasy since those forest fires." 

" Well, I am not so sure that the Indians had anything to 
do with those fires ; in fact, all trustworthy reports are to 
the contrary." 

" Is there anything else. Major ? " said the Adjutant. 

"Yes, you may have O'Malley detailed as permanent 
orderly. He is a good groom and an excellent man in the 
field. He can ride one of my horses on the march." 

" Very well, sir. Good-morning." 

The official kerosene burned late that night ; in the office, 
where the staff were getting out orders and requisitions, and 
in the cook-houses, where rations were bubbling in caldrons 
of witch-like proportions and blackness. 

THE START. 

The morning of Sunday, the twenty-first, was bright and 
bracing, and the troops as they assembled for the march to 
White River wore a holiday look ; so comfortable and ser- 
viceable were all the appointments, so glossy the coats of 
the horses, so cheerful the men, so natty the officers. 'It 
might have been a picnic, excepting for one or two things. 
People do not usually go picnicing armed "to the teeth," 
their saddles heavily packed, and with an ambulance or 
two ; and those who come to the send-off do not usually 
wear so serious an air, nor are there so manv women struo-« 



420 BESIEGED B V THE UTES. 

gling with tears and forebodings. But as General Wolfe is 
said to have remarked the night before the storming of 
Quebec : 

" Why, soldiers, why 

Should we be melancholy boys ? 
Why, soldiers, why ? 
Whose business 'tis to die." 

And so the majority took their cues from the sun and 
beamed on each other, and looked approvingly upon the 
Adjutant, Mr. Cherry, who rode up and down the column, 
occasionally,, to see that the different parts of the machine 
were working smoothly. 

Lieutenant Cherry of the Fifth Horse was a general favor- 
ite. He was handsome of face, brawny of frame, tall of 
stature, and generous of nature. At West Point he had 
proved the nobility of his character. One day, at artillery 
drill, he was stationed with a companion on the same side of 
the gun. In shifting the piece, which weighed nearly a 
thousand pounds, something in the carriage gave way and 
the ponderou-s mass of metal slowly slid over toward 
Cherry's comrade, who was physically small and delicate. 
In an instant Cadet Cherry sprang in front of the boy, 
against the piece, and for a few seconds held it, while the 
other instinctively jumped aside. This, Cherry could not 
now do, and before he could be extricated, the heavy cannon 
settled down, pinning the gallant fellow to the ground. 
He had saved his friend at the expense of a broken thigh, 
which laid him up in hospital for a long time and delayed 
his graduation. 

Major Thornburgh was quietly plodding along at the 



EN ROUTE. 421 

head of his command upon a well-bred, hunter-like animal, 
with the dapper O'Malley in close attendance, astride of the 
commanding officer's spare mount. It was a goodly sight 
as the column " pulled out " on the trail. First, a platoon 
to furnish the advance guard, and a few " flankers " (men to 
ride on each side of the road and watch for the enemy), then 
the leading squadron ; the infantry in wagons ; the train ; with 
Lawson's troop bringing up the rear of the column. As the 
men's sabres had been left behind in garrison there was no 
clanking of scabbards, but, instead, a subdued clatter of can- 
teens, haversacks and nosebags, a rumble of wheels, muffled 
hoof-beats on the soft turf, an occasional snort from a chaf- 
ing horse, a»d an undercurrent of low laughter and soldier 
chaff which mark the freedom of a prairie march, or, as they 
say in the infantr}^ " the route step." 

NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. 

The expeaition met with n.o adventures for the first hun- 
dred miles. The road led over a curious country, not un- 
like the bed of some vast ocean. Now, between rolling 
hills, over dry and barren plains ; at distances of twenty or 
thirty miles, a small river or creek ; then up, slowly and 
painfully, over great sandstone cliffs overlooking immense 
valleys, covered with short grass on which herds of antelopes 
grazed peacefully, side by side with the thousands of cattle 
belonging to the ranchmen who had settled there ; in fact, 
the whole country was a grand, far-reaching series of mesas* 
separated by ravines or canons. Here and there were red 

* High hills with flat tops. 



422 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

and yellow masses of scrub-oak and sage brush foliage. 
Eighty miles from Rawlins the soldiers reached the Snake 
River, — so called from its winding course, — about seventy- 
five feet broad and a foot deep. 

FORTIFICATION CREEK. 

Onward, through heavy sand and by cultivated fields, 
Major Thornburgh's men approached Fortification Creek 
and a great natural curiosity. It is a wall of solid porphyry, 
running east and west, one end terminating at the eastern 
side of the road. It is from thirty-five to one hundred feet 
high, shaped at the top in fantastic turrets, and upon one 
side the porphyry bears a coloring of dark bro\#i, varied by 
patches of the richest crimson, where the snow, rain and 
wind have polished its surface, — surpassing the finest lac- 
quer of Japan, and glittering in the sunlight like a mountain 
of rubies. Captain McCauley, who surveyed the road in 
1878, says of Fortification Creek: " It is said to have been 
so named from an actual fight there occurring between 
several Indian tribes, who made use of this line of nature ; 
and upoo its top small piles of rocks, near the road, were 
pointed out by the guide as having been placed there by 
one of the contesting bands." 

At Fortification Creek, the infantry under Lieutenant 
Price were left, with orders to establish a supply camp, 
while the rest of the command pushed on for nearly twenty 
miles, going into camp early in the afternoon of the 26th, 
in the lovely vale of the Yampah (or Bear) River. 



" UTE jack:' 



4-^3 



SUSPICIOUS VISITORS. 

After the usual orders for protecting the camp had been 
given, the commanding officer, surrounded by several of 

his subordinates, was 
enjoying a well-earned 
rest, when a small 
party was seen ap- 
proaching, under the 
guidance of a mounted: 
corporal of the guard. 
It proved to be " Ute 
Jack " and several fol- 
lowers, evidently come 
"to spy out the land." 
They were invited to 
if^join the group, and 
seating themselves on 
^the ground without 
f^ ceremony, and accept- 
ing some tobacco, they 
were soon " blowing a 
cloud " with the pale- 
faces. 

Jack was rather talk- 
ative, in broken Eng- 
lish, and referred to 
his visit to the East a year or two before, remarking of 
the great metropolis that " New York pretty good," " Pretty 
good theatre in New York." Ever and anon, however, he 




" UTE JACK, 



424 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

would turn to one of the officers with the question, " What 
for you come?" "What soldiers going to do?" Of 
course every effort was made to impress him with the 
peaceful intentions of the troops, but soon Jack would ask 
the same thing over again, showing how little impression 
the soft words had made upon him. He spoke bitterly of 
Agent Meeker, who, he said, had promised him, ^mong 
other things, a wagon " with heap red paint on it," but 
instead serjt him a blue one. The Indians, after deposing 
of a meal, not " square " but cubic, as it was very long, 
broad and thick, and included the additional luxury of the 
only box of Rcina Victorias in camp, left the soldiers, ap- 
parently in good humor. 

The next day the advance was resumed through the 
wildest and most beautiful scenery imaginable, and after a 
short march, a camp was pitched by the side of a sgarkling 
stream, fringed with weeping willows, its banks covered with 
a thick carpet of grass, in which the tired animals revelled. 

Another visit was paid by the Utes — this time a party 
consisting of " Colorow," a' White River chief of poor rep- 
utation, " Bummer Jim," " Henry," the Agency interpreter, 
and one or two others. These were at first more reserved 
in manner than " Jack " and his friends, but after awhile 
grew more sociable. " Colorow " did not thaw much even, 
when, failing to see any Rcina Victorias in sight, he coolly 
drew into the folds of his blanket a precious bale of " Kil- 
likinnick " tobacco. The rascals had commenced to loot 
already ! Waxing familiar, " Henry " proposed that the 
tallest two of the officers present — probably Thornburgh and 
Cherry — should measure heights with himself and " Bum- 



THE HOME OF THE TITANS. 425 

mer Jim," who was very large and athletic. To amuse the 
savages, the caprice was gratified. In the light of later 
events this proceeding smacked somewhat of the under- 
taker's craft, although, perhaps, only meant to gratify a 
barbaric vanity. Again the " Reds " departed with signs 
of good-will. 

The last march but one was through a region described 
by an officer in such graphic terms that we cannot forbear 
quoting; " From Williams' Fork the road, still going south, 
enters the canon of a small mountain rivulet, and at a dis- 
tance of three miles bears sharply off to the right, when in 
a pretty little park we found several sweet springs overhung 
by masses of red sandstone, in some places eroded by the 
action of wind and water into forms of fantastic beauty ; in 
others, piled rock upon rock, in inextricable confusion, as if 
the Titans had been playing at bowls in the long, long ago. 
On our right a mountain, grim, brown, bare, rose to an alti- 
tude of three thousand feet ; on the left the peaks shot 
skyward, their crests wearing the foliated aspect of cathedral 
spires, and the feathery plumes of smoke from the burn- 
ing timber floating between us and the sun were beau- 
tiful with the tints of golden bronze." * 

Major Thornburgh broke camp on the morning of the 29th 
of September, intending to go to the immediate vicinity of 
the Agency with his men, put them in camp, and then, ac- 
companied by the Agent (who had been requested to meet 
him) and five soldiers, to go to Meeker's house and have a 
" talk " with the Indians. " Jack," when visiting Thorn- 

* Captain Payne, in United Service Magazine, Jan., 18S0. 



426 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

burgh's camp, had tried to persuade that officer to leave his 
command then and go to the Agency with a nominal escort, 
but his advice was not taken, although Jack's motives were 
not then suspected, 

"At half-past nine the same morning," wrote Ca'ptain 
Payne, " we reached the high ground overlooking Milk River. 
Descending the hill a fine landscape lay before us : a small 
stream running softly down a narrow valley ; on the right 
hand, a mile off, a line of bluffs, continuous and inaccessible, 
with broken ridges nearer the creek; on the left, rounded 
knolls, and what our English friends call " downs," furrowed 
with arrojas, and running back to the high hills which form 
the advance guard of the White River Mountains. The air 
was soft and balmy as with the breath of the sweet South, 
and the bright sunshine, shooting in broad flashes across the 
hill-tops, filled the valley as with liquid gold. Save in the 
long column which, dismounted, was winding its way down 
the hill, not a living creature was in sight. Earth and sky 
were fair to behold, and the pictured calm seemed the very 
symbol of Peace." 

THE FIGHT AT AHLK lilVER. 

The command halted a moment and watered the horses 
in the stream, which takes its name and appearance from the 
lime soil through which it flows. 

Major Thornburgh moved down the creek a short distance 
and crossed, with two companies, leaving the other troop 
(D) of the Fifth to come on more slowly, with the wagons. 
Suddenly Lieutenant Cherry, who was with the advance, 
saw in front and on the right, posted along the bluffs com- 



A BATTLE-INTRENCHMENT. 4^7 

manding the road, a number of Indians. He instantly sig- 
nalled his commander to halt. The troops were instantly 
dismounted and deployed on both sides of the road. Loth 
to begin a fight if it could be prevented, in accordance 
with instructions received from his department commander, 
Thornburgh, accompanied by Cherry, advanced in person and 
made signs to the Indians for a parley. The reply was a 

shot. 

The Indians, who largely outnumbered the cavalry, had 
selected an admirable position, which not only towered 
above the one occupied by the soldiers, but was just within 
the border of the reservation. 

There was but one thing to do. To fall back to the 
wagens, and, for the want of a natural fortification such as 
the Indians held, to construct an artificial defence. The 
Indians had almost prevented this by getting between the 
leading companies and the wagon-train ; but by the skilful 
movements and cool behavior of the troops, the desired 
object was reached. 

In superintending the details of this operation, the brave 
commander furnished the " shining mark " which we are told 
grim death loves. Seeing that the men of Payne and 
Lawson were retiring in good order, Thornburgh galloped 
off in direction of the train, attended only by the ever faithful 
O'Malley. He had recrossed the little river and was within a 
short distance of the wagons when, above the high grass, 
behind a sage bush, rose the head and shoulders of an Indian. 
A quick flash, a sharp report, a little puff of smoke, and the 
gallant officer fell forward on his horse's neck, which at the 
same time plunged violently and dashed its unconscious 



428 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

burden to the ground. The orderly, who had been sent 
back, was returning, when this tragedy was enacted about 
fifty yards in advance and before his eyes. As he drew near 
he saw the Indian bushwhacker stealing toward the pros- 
trate form of his victim. Mechanically, O'Malley reined up, 
levelled his pistol at the assassin's head, and caused him in 
turn to bite the dust. His first impulse was to secure the 
body of his dead leader and bear it to the train, but a wild 
yell, near at hand, caused him to turn and note the approach, 
at the top speed of their ponies, of three hostile Utes. The 
odds were too great, and emptying another chamber of his 
revolver at the party, he had the satisfaction of seeing one 
of their horses tumble in a heap ; touching his excited steed 
with the spur, he soon reached the refuge of the train. with 
the sad news. The body remained within the hostile lines 
for several days, and when finally recovered, bore no signs 
of the customary mutilation, but within the cold, fingers of 
one hand was a photograph of " Colorow," placed there by 
the bloodthirsty scoundrel, who had thus abused the kind- 
ness of a good friend of his people. 

SHERMAN ON THORNBURGH. 

The General of the Army subsequently placed on record 
his opinion that, " Major Thornburgh was an officer and a 
gentleman of whom the Army has reason to be proud ; he 
was young, ardent, ambitious, of good judgment, and no man 
could have done better in life . nor met death with more 
heroism." 



BRA VE SERGEANT DOLAN. 429 

MEDAL WINNERS OF MILK RIVER. 

Captain Payne, who succeeded to the command upon 
Thornburgh's death, says : " The last order Major Thorn- 
burgh gave me was to charge a body of fifty or sixty Indians 
who were on a high hill, between the skirmish line and 
wagon-train to which he had just, ordered a retreat. In the 
charge my horse * was killed and my men, not seeing me fall 
on account of the dust and smoke, passed on to the train, 
the Indians having dispersed on our approach. My First 
Sergeant, DOLAN, soon missed me, and returning alone, dis- 
mounted and offered me his horse, in the coolest and most 
matter-of-fact way. Of course I could not accept his offer, 
and he would not leave me, although I ordered him to do 
so. At this time several of the Indians had returned to 
their place on the hill, but sixty yards away, and it has always 
been a mystery to me why they did not fire upon us whilst 
we were talking together. Shortly after, help came, and we 
got safely away, but the gallant old fellow was killed a 
couple of hours later while exposing himself to the enemy's 
fire, t 

" He was the bravest and most loyal soldier to his of^cers 
I have ever known. He must have been fifty-five years of 
age. 

" In his long service of thirty-three years he had njet with 
many adventures ; had been wounded twice, had innumer- 



* The horse is the same photographed with Captain Payne, p. 358. 

t Supposing that he was only wounded, I went out to bring him under cover and found 
Sergeant Grimes already by his side, and together we dragged the old man's body into 
the trenches. 



.Q^Um 




/> H 



430 



SERGEANT GA'IMES' CONDUCT. 



431 



able horses killed under him, and had been a prisoner at 
Andersonville. 

" The year before he was killed, a bill was favorably re- 
ported in Congress, placing Dolan on the retired list as a 
Lieutenant, but before it could become a law the Sergeant 
had ceased to exist." 

An incident of the movement to the rear by the troops 
of Payne and Lawson was the gallant and efficient service 
rendered by Sergeant ED- 
WARD Grimes (F, 5th Cav- 
alry), who was awarded a 
Medal of Honor for his 
share of the day's work. 
As the men were falling 
back under orders, skir- 
mishing with the Indians, 
who were pressing them 
hard, a break or gap oc- 
curred in the line. It was 
a critical moment ; the In- 
dians were making for a 
crest which would have 
given them a decided ad- 
vantage. Captain Payne saw it, and ordered Sergeant 
Grimes to take a few men and make a rush for this 
point. Without a moment's hesitation, and with only 
two companions, he reached the spot in time and held it 
until ordered to leave. In falling back, Lieutenant Cherry 
had charge of the skirmishers and came very near being 
cut off, as the Indians pressed him closely and his am- 




SERGEANT EDWARD GRIMES, 
FIFTH U. S. CAVALRY. 



432 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

munition was very low. Between his position and the 
train was a space of about a thousand yards. To get more 
cartridges some one must run the gantlet. Sergeant 
Grimes " volunteered " to go. Cherry said, " Go, Grimes, 
and I will never forget you." Mounting his horse, already 
bleeding from two wounds in the neck, the brave fellow 
set off on his perilous race. In his own words, " The party 
of Indians surrounding us closed in on me. Pistol in hand 
I gave them all that was in it. The cheering of our men 
gave me courage. I put the spurs to my horse and outran 
my pursuers without a scratch, but my horse was again shot 
in the fetlock, causing him to skip from one leg to another." 
The train had been parked on the right bank of and 
about two hundred yards from the river ; the wagons form- 
ing the north side of a corral, elliptical in shape, its axis run- 
ning east and west and the south side exposed to a fierce 
fire from the Indians, who, massing in the ravines along the 
river and upon commanding heights, were making a des- 
perate effort to capture the train before it could be pre- 
pared for defence. About twenty of the animals, already 
wounded, were led out into the open space of the corral, 
killed, and their bodies, with the wagons, were formed into 
a continuous line of cover. The wagons were also unloaded 
of the bedding, grain sacks and boxes of hard-bread which 
were used to strengthen the breastworks. While this was 
being done, the Indians kept up a continuous fire, and many 
horses and men fell to rise no more. Lieutenant Paddock, 
5th Cavalry, was wounded in the hip, while superintending 
his part of the work, and Captain Payne was shot in the 
arm. 




433 



434 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

The Indians, foiled in their attempt to cut off the 
wagons, took advantage of the high wind then blowing 
toward the soldiers, to set fire to the tall grass and sage- 
brush in front of their intrenchments. Captain Payne ob- 
served this, and also that the train of one Gordon, an Indian 
supply contractor, was parked near by, between the troops 
and the river. Fearing that, under cover of the smoke, the 
Avily foe might creep up and occupy this new position. Cap- 
tain Payne started a fire in the opposite direction, which not 
only cleared the ground immediately in his front, but 
reached and burned up the contractor's train, to the great 
relief of the besieged. 

According to his commanding officer. Sergeant POPPE 
here displayed qualities which won him the medal. 

" I put him in charge of a party of ten men to dislodge 
some Indians from the ravines and river banks, where their 
position enabled them to cut off a part of my command 
from the wagon-train. This duty he gallantly performed. 
Later, when the Indians set fire to the grass and sage-brush, 
in an attempt to burn our train and drive us from cover, 
I ordered Poppe to get three or four men and set fire to 
the grass immediately about us, so that when the fire set by 
the Indians should come, there would be nothing around 
us to bum. Poppe said he would do it by himself, and 
springing over the breastwork before I could prevent him, 
he lighted a match, touched it to a wisp of grass, and going 
from place to place fired the sage-brush, returning only 
after the duty had been thoroughly performed. All this 
time, which consumed several minutes, he was as cool and 



SERGEANT LA WTOiX. 



435 



collected as on parade, although a hundred rifles made him 
their target ; miraculously he escaped without a scratch." 

Sergeant John S. Lawton, of Troop " D," 5th Cavalry, 
was also conspicuous in the performance of his duty dur- 
ing the siege. On the first day he greatly distinguished 
himself by heading a small detachment (five men) to the 
rescue of Captain Lawson, 3d Cavalry, and Lieutenant 
Cherry, 5th Cavalry, who were nearly cut off by the Indians. 
In doing this, the party was 
exposed to a heavy fire, losing 
three killed before reaching the 
shelter of the trenches. 
* Sergeant Lawton (now Cor- 
poral of Battery B, 5th United 
States Artillery), received a 
Medal of Honor. 

An attack made by the In- 
dians was gallantly repulsed. 
During the entire day the en- 
emy kept up a constant fire, 
using ammunition like water, killing or mortally wounding 
several men and three-fourths of the horses. At dark 
another charge was made by the Indians, which was again 
repulsed with loss on both sides. In the night many of the 
dead animals were hauled off, a supply of water for the 
next day was obtained, cartridges and rations were issued, 
rifle-pits were dug and the defence was strengthened. 

We could only get our water at night. Great judgment, 
coolness and address, as well as courage, were required in 
the discharge of this delicate and dangerous duty. There 




SERGEANT JOHN S. LAWTON, 

FIFTH U. S. CAVALRY. 



43 6 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

was a scarcity of officers, and each had his hands full. My 
confidence in Corporal Hampton M. Roach was so great 
that, although he was one of the junior corporals in rank, as 
well as young in years, I gave him full charge of the water 
supply; a duty that witli a full number of officers present, 
would have been assigned to one of them. One night the 
Indians crept up close to our intrenchments and attacked the 
water party, but Roach was ready for them, and his men 
covered them with carbines cocked and fingers on triggers ; 
the Utes made a desperate effort and shot one of our men, 
but Roach kept his head, repulsed the attack, and, without 
returning to the rifle-pits, procured his supply of water for 
the next twenty-four hours. For this gallant act, his gen- 
eral good conduct and superior intelligence, I recommended 
him for appointment as Second Lieutenant in the Arm}-, 
and I am glad to say that he passed his examination suc- 
cessfully, and is now serving with his regiment, the ist In- 
fantry. 

The next day brought a continuation of the bombard- 
ment, and all the animals were killed, excepting fourteen 
mules. 

The day after (Oct. i) the programme was unchanged, 
save that the water party was attacked at short range, but 
drove the enemy away, with the loss of one man on each 
side. 

On the morning of the fourth day (Oct. 2) an Indian was 
heard to say, " Soldiers coming I " Payne's men took this 
for a stratagem to throw them ofY their guard, but it had an 
other meaning. 

Captain Payne writes : " After the first day's fight I had 







437 



438 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

to send couriers with the news to the railroad, 140 miles 
away. Surrounded by Indians as we were, the duty Avas 
hazardous in the extreme. Corporals GEORGE MOQUIN and 
Edward Murphy (D) were the first who offered to go 
when volunteers were called for, as they were, only in this 
case during the entire operations. I deemed it best to 
trust men for this dangerous service who were willing to un- 
dertake it. I explained the danger to these men, expressed 
my belief that the chances were against all of the party get- 
ting through, and upon their still expressing a desire to go, 
gave each of the party. Corporals Moquin and Murphy, 
Scout Rankin and Mr. John Gordon (an Indian freight 
contractor, a very gallant man), a copy of my despatches 
and sent them off. The danger was great ; they fully un- 
derstood it and went without hesitation." 

THE COLORED TROOPS. 

On the thirtieth of September, Captain Dodge, 9th 
Cavalry, with his company was scouting near Bear River, 
when his advance-guard came across a piece of white paper, 
with these words scribbled upon it, hanging to a twig 
of sage-brush: "Hurry up; the troops have been de- 
feated at the Agency. — E. E. C." In the languagfe of this 
ofificer's report, " Having seen that my men were supplied 
with 125 rounds of ammunition and three days' rations per 
man, I started for Payne's command. I took with me one 
pack mule, on which was carried a couple of blankets and a 
few picks and spades. ' The force left to me consisted of 
two officers, thirty-five soldiers and four citizens. * * * 
The night was bright and cold and the march unimpeded. 



CAPTAIN DODGE'S TROOP. 439 

At four o'clock we reached the river road, about five miles 
from the intrenchments, and shortly afterward came upon 
the dead bodies of three men, lying in a gulch, near which 
a train loaded with annuity goods had been burned by the 
Indians. Half an hour later we arrived at Payne's com- 
mand. Singularly enough, the Indians did not molest us 
in the least up to this time, and I can only account for it 
by supposing that they imagined a much stronger force 
coming in, and were unwilling to expose themselves. How- 
ever, we were scarcely inside the trenches when they com- 
menced a fusillade, which was kept up at intervals for the 
next three days. Of forty-two animals taken into the 
trenches with my company, but four are left, and these are- 
wounded." 

The remark, " Soldiers coming," was the first intimation 
that re-enforcements were at hand, and for the remainder of 
the siege the " brunettes " (for Dodge's men were colored 
soldiers) vied with their white comrades in deeds of daring 
and self-sacrifice. Captain Lawson is reported to have 
said afterwards, that " the men of the 9th Cavalry are the 
whitest black men I ever saw." 

MASSACRE AND CAPTIVITY. 

On the first day of the fight the Indians lost twenty of 
their young men. Up to this time the agent, Mr. Meeker,, 
and his family had not been molested. But urged by per- 
sonal hatred, grief at the loss of so many promising braves,, 
and disappointment at the failure of the ambush they had 
planned, a party of Utes, headed by Johnson, rushed back, 
murdered the agent and his men in cold blood and carried 




JOSEPHINE MEEKER A.ND FELLOW CAPTUEi. 



440 



THE MEEKER CAPTIVES. 441 

into a captivity — often worse than death — three women 
and two children, the unhappy remnant of two house- 
holds. These were the wife and daughter of the Agent, and 
the wife and two children of one of the employes. 

They were hurried away to a camp which had been es- 
tablished by the Indians for the protection of their own 
families in case of war. The captives were abused and in- 
sulted, but preserved throughout a fortitude and courage 
which drew from their brutal captors expressions of admi- 
ration. Their lives were spared through the efforts of Susan, 
the sister of Ouray and wife of Johnson,— -the arch-fiend and 
murderer of the Agent. Susan was a wonderful instance 
of the fact that, although Indians never forgive an in- 
jury they often remember a favor. Some years before, she 
had been captured b)- a war-party of Arapahoes, near the 
Cache le Poudre River. As they were about to burn the 
helpless woman at the stake, the commanding officer of Fort 
Collins interfered, and partially by threats and partially by 
promises, succeeded in rescuing the prisoner from the tort- 
ure. Nobly did Susan repay the debt. 

During all the horror of this time, Josephine Meeker (who 
had been the school-teacher at the Agency) showed great en- 
durance and heroism. On one occasion the chief, Douglas, 
placed the muzzle of his rifle against her forehead and said, 
" Me shoot," and asked her if she was not afraid. The 
girl drew herself up and looking her persecutor calmly 
, in the eye, replied, " I am not afraid of Indians nor of 
death ! " Whereupon Douglas dropped his piece and slunk 
away, crestfallen, amid the jeers of his companions, 
24 



442 



BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 



The details of the sufferings of these poor women are too 
sad to dwell upon here. 

By the prompt action of the Indian Department, a brave 




man, General Adams, formerly the agent for the Utes, was 
sent at once to treat for the release of the captives. After 
much trouble, and at ,some personal risk, he succeeded in 
his object, and the intended victims were restored to their 
own people. 



MERRITT'S MARCH. 443 



RAISING THE SIEGE. 

If the experience of those at the front had been exciting, 
the sensations of their friends in the rear were equally stir- 
ring- 

As soon as the news was received, General Merritt— the 

colonel of Payne's regiment and one of the famous cavalry 
leaders of our great Civil War— was sent, with a large force, 
to the relief of the besieged. 

At the head of two squadrons of cavalry and two com- 
panies of infantry, he made what was called " a lightning 
march " across country, through clouds of blinding alkali 
dust, which settled in the eyes, nostrils, ears and throats of 
men and animals, causing intense pain, bleeding and ex- 
haustion. One hundred and thirty-one of the men were in- 
fantry in wagons. 

But such was the stern determination to reach the com- 
mand at Milk River in time, that at 5.30 P.M., October 5, 
after an unparalleled march of 170 miles in forty-eight 
hours, Merritfs men arrived. Captain Payne thus describes 
the moment : "Just as the first gray of the dawn appeared, 
our listening ears caught the sound of ' ofificers' call,' * break- 
ing the silence of the morning, and filling the valley with 
the sweetest music we had ever heard. Joyously the reply 
rang out from our corral, and the men, rushing from the 
rifles-pits, made the welkin ring with their glad cheers. It 
was the relief of Lucknow in miniature, Isandula over 
again— this time in the mountains of Colorado. 

* The trumpet signal by which military officers may be suddenly assembled in camp or 

carrison. 



444 BESIEGED BY THE UTES. 

" The losses of the troops were one commissioned officer, 
nine soldiers and five civilians killed, three officers and 
thirty-two men wounded, and two hundred and ten animals 
killed. The Indians acknowledged a loss of thirty-seven 
killed out of 350 engaged. Among the wounded were 
Lieutenant Paddock and Dr. Grimes. 

" General Merritt pushed on to the Agency, from which 
the Indians fled at his approach. Everything was in ruins, 
and the mutilated bodies of the Agent and his assistants 
were found unburied amid the desolation." 

As he was preparing to move into the heart of the Ute 
country, with a view of punishing the perpetrators of this 
crime, he was ordered to suspend operations, while the 
Indian Department tried diplomacy instead of force as a 
remedy. Principally through the efforts of Ouray, peace 
was preserved, and the Indians were permitted to return to 
the reservation without the thrashing they so richly de- 
served, and which General Merritt was eager to give them. 

To this day, no atonement has been made by them for 
the innocent blood poured out on the banks of the White 
River. 





COLONEL BENJAMUJ LLOYD BEALL, 

SECOND U. S. DRAGOONS. 



445 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

I. TIIK SECOND DRAGOON S* 

PressinK here my mossy pillow. 

Forms that moulder 'neath the willow, 

Forms that sleep beneath the billow, 

Flit and frolic rcHjnd me now ; 

BanishinK all thought of mourning, 

All my dreams with joy adorning. 

May they tarry till the morning 

Ere they breathe their " Hough ! " + 

" Hough !" boys, " Hough !"_" Hough !" boys, " Hough !" 

Let the soldiers' toast be ever 

" /fnugh I " 

LET disinterested outsiders attest the excellence of a 
famous body of horsemen, where the modesty of an 
ofificer:}: trained in its school (who contributes the following 
reminiscences) may fail to do justice. 

The tone of the regiment, doubtless, had its source in its 
oxX^mzS. perso7incl, created for service in the Far West, and 
the term of enlistment being but for three years, many 
young native Americans joined its standard for the sake of 
the adventurous career thus offered, and the hope of better- 
ing their fortunes in that terra incof^nita. Thus a brother- 
hood was formed, and an esprit de corps established, which 
endured for many years, and which, it is to be hoped, still 
continues. 



* Now the zd U. S. Cavalry. t Pronounced '' I/ow." 

% The late Gen. H. H. Sibley, formerly Captain 2d Dragoons. 

446 



DA VI D E. TWIGGS. 447 



THE FIRST COLONEL. 



The first Colonel, Twiggs, when appointed in 1836, was 
in the full vigor of manhood. Original, practical and of 
quick perception, he inspired the Regiment with an endur- 
ing faith and self-reliance. Severe in his discipline, he was, 
nevertheless, possessed of that bonJiommic which won the 
hearts of soldiers and officers. Of commanding presence, 
and of that military dignity so essential in a commander, 
his slightest wish was law, and a rebuke from him never 
failed of its object. The men of the Regiment feared, re- 
spected and loved him. A thorough tactician himself, he 
did not hesitate to place himself in the ranks of the officers 
for instruction in the sabre and lance exercises, and in the 
true method of intoning the voice in giving commands, 
under the newly arrived officers, Captain L, J. Bcall and 
Lieut. W. J. Hardee,* from the Cavalry School at Saumur, 
France. Educated in the school of martinets which per- 
vaded the Army at the period of his first appointment, his 
passions were unrestrained, and were often manifested in 
the most violent paroxysms of temper, resulting in inhuman 
punishments. This, however, was of but short duration 
after his appointment to the Second Dragoons. Perceiving 
the error of his ways, he adopted instead a fatherly care, 
and his punishments were more practical, simple, original 
and telling. 



* Afterwards Lieutenant-General C. S. A. 



448 REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

REGIMENTAL CUSTOMS. 

The regiment was constantly on the watch for some odd 
character. Thus it was with our quondam friend, Mr. 

F , who not only afforded us amusement, but feathered 

his nest as well ; and thus, too. Bill Williams, the most 
famous fiddler in the upper country. Hearing such marvel- 
lous accounts of him it was decided in conclave to send an 
ambulance and fetch him down, the officers agreeing to pay 
him five dollars a day and his expenses. He entertained us 
for a fortnight with the genuine " Arkansas Traveller," tell- 
ing the story as he played, " Harper's Fork o' Roaring 
River," and innumerable " Scotch strathspeys." He played 
for us at the balls we'd give, notwithstanding that we had a 
band led by Seiior Chioffi, the most famous trombone player 
in the world, but who was not slow in acknowledging Bill's 
wonderful expertness with his fiddle. 

A "hunt" was organized, and men and officers were sent 
to scour the country as far as Alexandria to procure hounds 
of the best breed ; and you may rest assured, Madam, or 
Sir, that the welkin would ring with a vengeance when the 
twenty hounds, with their whippers and the hunters, would 
meet in the midst of the parade for a fox hunt. Horns 
blowing, hounds yelping, and men screaming at the top of 
their voices, would make a scene of excitement that would 
rival the most noted English hunting scenes. 

Such, and of such, was the daily life at Fort Jesup, be- 
sides, of course, the strictly routine duties of mounted and 
dismounted drills ; recitations in tactics, and in the regula- 
tions ; and exercises with the sabre and lance ; the latter 



SECOND DRAGOON POINTS. 449 

made in the regiment. Saturday was the day for exercise 
in these arms : mornings for sabre, afternoons for the lance. 
The entire command would be assembled in columns of 
companies at open order, occupying the whole parade, and 
under the direction of the Adjutant, would be exercised for 
an hour by the non-commissioned officers alternately in the 
points, cuts and moulinets. The method of command 
taught by Beall and Hardee would be strictly enforced. 
Thus, commands of caution would be drawled loudly, whilst 
commands of execution would follow with a sharp, ener- 
o-etic voice. By this custom the men would be exercised, 
and the non-commissioned officers attain confidence and 
uniformity. 

The drills were practical rather than ornamental. In 
very hot weather the officers and men would be permitted 
to throw off their shell jackets or coats, and at a " rest " the 
men were permitted and encouraged to sky-lark — so that the 
drills would be pleasant episodes, rather than toil. Leap- 
ing a pile of pine logs, by the whole command, would termi- 
nate each mounted drill ; and it was a rare sight to witness 
the grace with which it was done by some of the men, lance 
in rest. Awkward fellows, who pretended that their horses 
would not take the leap, were given stick horses, and made 
to scramble over it. 

The alacrity of the Second Dragoons was always remark- 
able. We were camped, I remember, near the town of 
Lecompton, Kansas, during the border troubles. The 
horses were picketed to grass on the prairie, about a quar- 
ter of a mile from camp. "To Horse ! " was sounded, and 
it appeared to me, in less than five minutes I was at a 



450 REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

round trot and gallop with my squadron, passing in 
review the laggards who had not yet formed, and inter- 
posed between the two belligerent lines of Free Soilers and 
Border Ruffians. Each man knew his place and his num- 
ber in the platoon, company, and squadron, so that there 
was no occasion to count off. Promptness in action was 
always a distinguishing characteristic of the regiment.'^ 

A MODEL SERGEANT-MAJOR. 

Our Sergeant-Major, TREE (of the period between '42 
and '45), was one of the handsomest soldiers I ever saw ; 
and quite as perfect in his duties. His uniform was within 
a shade of the shell jacket worn by the officers. Indeed, 
all the first-sergeants were thus clad. It was with no little 
pride that the Sergeant-Major was observed crossing the 
parade. At the time I speak of, the 3d Infantry, Colonel 
Hitchcock, — the crack regiment of infantry, by the way, — 
formed a part of the garrison, though quartered in sheds 
and shanties on the outside. One day Colonel Hitchcock, 
together with other officers of the regiment, was seated on 
the broad piazza of the Adjutant's Office, his orderly, a 
spruce sergeant, lounging below, when Tree came out of the 
office ; gracefully saluting the group of officers, he descended 
the steps to the ground, when the orderly sprang to"at-^ 
tention," and saluted Tree as he passed ! " I am not a bit 



* There is good reason to think that the successors of the Second Dragoons are not 
" slow " when a move is ordered. On one occasion, during the War in 1863, the regiment 
was ordered to break camp suddenly, and pursue Mosby, the celebrated Confederate parti- 
san, who had attacked t.he rfear of General Meade's trains at Brandy Station. When 
" To Horse ! " sounded the men were lounging, the horses standing at the picket line, and 
no one thought of a march. In eight minutes the Second had saddled up, mounted, 
and was trotting down the road with three days' rations in the haversacks. — [Editor.] 



SERGEANT-MAJOR TREE. . - j 

surprised," remarked the Colonel. " The soldierly bearing, 
and neatness of dress of that Sergeant-Major, would elicit 
a salute from any man in my regiment." This was said 
with a half suppressed tone of bitterness and envy. Phil. 
Barbour, his adjutant, had, doubtless, the same feeling. In 
fact, it seemed to be the study of the regiment to differ, 
and to distinguish itself from others. Accessories to the 
uniform clothing furnished by the Government, such as 
yellow worsted bands around the cap for ordinary non-com- 
missioned officers and privates, and gold lace for the non- 
commissioned staff and first-sergeants, were allowed and 
encouraged, to distinguish the regiment from the First 
Dragoons. 

A FAMOUS CAVALRYMAN. 

The Lieutenant-Colonel, Harney, like the Colonel, had 
been educated in his youthful military career in the severe, 
rugged school of 182 1. A man of stalwart frame, six feet 
four inches in height, straight as an Indian, and without 
an ounce of surplus flesh, his rugged face, sandy hair, 
and light blue eyes, elicited admiration and confidence. 
Thrown with roughs and Indians in his early service on 
the frontier, he emulated the most daring of them in their 
sports. In racing, leaping, and other manly sports, he 
excelled all competitors. Simple as a child in his manners 
and deportment, he was yet a lion when aroused or enraged. 
When he was stationed at old Fort Shelby, near Nackitosh, 
in '22, I think, and when his face was scarce fledged, he 
attended a fishing party in which my entire family partici- 
pated. In the course of the day, when the young men 



452 



J^EGL'LAKS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



were disposed to sky-lark, the Sheriff of the parish, a Mr. 
Johnson, a robust, powerful man, pretended that he was 
about to give my grandfather a ducking in the lake. 
Harney, being near my mother at the moment, she ap- 
pealed to him to save her father from the impending catas- 
trophe. Approaching the parties and remonstrating with 
Johnson, the latter, releasing my grandfather, turned upon 
Harney, as a foe more* worthy of his steel; but he had 




GENERAL WILLIAM S. HARNEY, 
UNITED STATES ARMY. 



very nearly paid for his temerity with his life. He seized 
Harney round the waist with a herculean grip, and al- 
though begged and implored not to commit such a folly, 
conveyed him waist deep into the lake, and, uniformed as 
he was, plunged him under the water. Harney aroused 
himself in the intense vigor of his manhood and strength, 
shook himself free from Johnson's bear-like clutches and 



A MILITARY ATHLETE. 453 

seizing him, in tlirn, would have drowned him, in his wrath, 
but for the timely interference of the spectators. Drenched 
to the skin, his uniform ruined, he made his apologies to 
the ladies, and retired from the party. 

On the Upper Missouri he delighted in excelling the 
Osage Indians, the bravest and most athletic of the tribes, 
in foot-races, and in the pursuit of the Elk afoot. 

On the occasion of Harney's hanging the Seminole chief, 
Chikikie, and a lot of his followers in the Everglades (the 
same chief who had surprised and massacred a detachment 
of the Second Dragoons, who were building a trading-post 
for the special benefit of his tribe, under the direction of 
Harney, who escaped by the skin of his teeth), the com- 
mander of the department neither approved nor condemned 
the act, until he was instructed from Washington to the 
latter course. But we of the Second Dragoons, six com- 
panies of which were stationed at Fort Butler with the 
headquarters, f^red a salute of twenty-one guns, the mo- 
ment we heard of it, in Harney's honor. This was but a 
single instance of esprit de corps, and regimental pride. 

Expert in every department of his profession, of untir- 
ing industry and energy, he was at home in any situation. 
He was as skilful in a small boat as the most rugged sai- 
lor. Fretful and impatient under command, he ever sought 
detached and hazardous service. He commanded the 
detachment of the Second Dragoons in General Scott's 
remarkable campaign, in Florida. Three columns were 
started from the northern part of the Peninsula to march 
south, communicating with each other by signals : big guns 
and rockets. Harney was attached to the centre column. 



454 KEGL^LARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

At night, when rockets were sent up, he leaped from his bed, 
ran out of his tent, calHng out in his stentorian voice, " What 
fool is firing those rockets ? Captain Fulton ! Captain 
Fulton, ain't your horses scared ? Well, it's strange they are 
not frightened to death ! I never heard of such tomfoolery 
in my life ! " Not a man in camp but heard his voice. 
" It's General Scott's orders. Colonel," some one called out. 
" Blank General Scott and the whole fraternity of Wash- 
ington generals. Does he expect to find any Indians if he 
makes such a racket?" There were plenty of gossips to 
repeat to General Scott the language Colonel Harney 
used ; and hence a bitter feeling was engendered, which 
lasted for years, culminating in the attempt to overslaugh 
him, in the organization of the expedition to Vera Cruz, 
and which happily terminated with Harney's capture of 
the heights of Cerro Gordo, the key to the Mexican posi- 
tion. On this occasion .General Scott tendered his hand, his 
congratulations, and his thanks. An enduring friendship 
was established thereafter. 

In 1839 Harney was stationed at Key Biscayne. He 
had with him as A. A. A. G. Lieutenant Saunders of the 
Second. The light-house had been burned and the keeper's 
family massacred by the Indians the year before. Harney 
bethought him, one day, that the light-house ought to be 
rebuilt. " Mr. Saunders," said he, " that light-house ought 
to be rebuilt. Whose duty is it, amongst those fellows in 
Washington?" "The Secretary of the Treasury has 
charge of all the light-houses, I believe," replied Saunders- 
* Well, write a letter to the Secretary and tell him, blank 
him, that the light-house ought to be rebuilt. Tell him 



''PEGGING'' TURTLE. 4-5 

that it ought to have been rebuilt long ago. Tell the 
blank idiot that if he will give me the authority 1 will re- 
build it myself." " But there is no stone here," suggested 
Saunders. " Tell the fool to send to Boston for the stone. 
Have you finished ? Read it ' " Saunders read precisely as 
he had dictated, not omitting a single syllable of his angry 
epithets. " Mr. Saunders," quoth the Colonel, with sup- 
pressed anger, and half inclined to laugh, too, at the ab- 
surdity of the whole proceeding, " a steam-boat will leave 
to-morrow morning for San Augustine ; get ready to go in 
her, and join your company." 

His chief amusement was to stand in the bow of a 
boat, with harpoon or grains, and strike the monster fish 
which abound in the waters of the eastern coast of Florida 
or to "peg" the enormous green turtle, as they slept on 
the surface of the water. The "peg" is an instrument of 
steel, about two inches long, one end shaped like a pyra- 
mid, with a shoulder about an inch from the point, the 
residue being a socket, into which a long, slender handle 
fits loosely. To this little instrument a long line is at- 
tached, which is held in the hand. The shaft is constantly 
held poised. Cautiously approaching a sleeping turtle, the 
shaft is thrown so as to strike him on the back ; the " peg " 
enters the shell merely, up to the shoulder, which closing 
over it, the shaft becomes detached, and he is secured to the 
line, by means of which he is towed ashore without injury. 
It was on such an excursion that he captured a sea-calf, 
that rara avis of the ocean. The skeleton was sent to 
Washington, and it is doubtless on exhibition at thir' day 
at the Smithsonian, 



456 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



CHARLIE MAY. 
Perhaps one of the most picturesque of the proverbially 
gallant sabreurs of the " Old Second " was Colonel CHARLES 
A. May. He was one of the heroes of our war with 
Mexico, where, at the head of his squadron, and in company 
with Captain (now General) Pike Graham, Lieutenants 




Sackett,* Pleasanton,f Inge and Winship at the battle of 
Resaca de la Palma, he made a brilliant charge upon the 
enemy's artillery, capturing a batter>^ and a general officer, 
La Vega, with a loss of one officer (Inge) and sixteen 
men and twenty-eight horses, killed or wounded. Like the 



* Late Inspector-General of the Army. 

t Afterward Major-General commanding Cavalry Corps, A. P. 



CHARLIE MA Y. 



457 



** Charge of the Six Hundred" at Balaclava, it became fa- 
mous : unlike that charge, it was not a blunder. The equally 
gallant deeds of May's comrades were overshadowed by 
the personal characteristics of their leader. The Press 
teemed with wonderful tales of his prowess and horseman- 
ship, like these : " This gallant officer has immortalized him- 
self. A friend who has watched his equestrian movements 
at the camp describes him as a most singular being; with 
a beard extending to his breast and long, flowing hair, 
which, as he cuts through the wind on his charger, streams 
out in all directions. He is one of the finest horsemen in 
the army. Nothing is too difficult for him to attempt." 
In Baltimore, one day, in 1845, ^e was fined for a breach of a 
city ordinance, in leaping his horse over a cord of wood 
in front of the City Hall. This horse was not less cele- 
brated than his master. He was a large coal-black gelding, 
and at the time of the Mexican War was about ten years 
old ; was sired in " Old Kcntuck'' by the celebrated " Whip!' 
May's eagle eye selected him from the mass — '' ignobile 
viilgnsr Trained and tutored in the menage, Tonis noble 
qualities spoke a blood and spirit far excelling his col- 
leagues. The delight which the ambitious animal displayed 
in every feat of daring or activity, seemed only to equal 
his astonishing powers. 

" OLD TOM'S " EXPLOITS. 

In Florida, in 1837, Old Tovi s amazing leaps and un- 
flinching spirit became notorious. One of his many 
achievements — the capture of " KING Philip " — particu- 
larly deserves historical notice. 

25 



458 REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

The action of Dunlawton was still raging, and Old Toms 
ardor for the fight had carried the gallant May ahead of 
his troop into the midst of the Seminoles, when their daring 
leader, " King Philip," sprung forth, with upraised rifle, to 
oppose horse and rider. May's sabre quickly swept the air, 
but the agile Indian avoided the blow as the fiery charger 
passed on. Instantly, however, did "'Old Tom'" turn on 
his haunches (as his master has said, with all the spirit 
and purpose of his rider), and rearing high, plunged both 
his front hoofs into the breast of the Indian warrior, knock- 
ing him full ten feet (as is well avouched), senseless and 
thenceforth a captive. 

Coa-co-chcc, or Wild-Cat, then became the ''head dcviV 
of the real Seminoles, and swore vengeance on his father's 
captor. One of his attempts was as follows : May, in the 
habit of riding alone from his near post to St. Augustine, 
was returning over the sandy road, unsuspicious of danger, 
one very dark night, when he and Old Tom found them- 
selves suddenly am.ong a drove of horses. May's pistol 
was instantly cocked, for he knew that "Indians were 
about ; " and he determined to go ahead and get his men 
out of the fort. Old Tom made his way through, but the 
Indians did not fire, for fear of alarming the post. About 
half a mile from where they passed through the herd was a 
wooden bridge which Old Tom always jumped ; this, as 
usual, he did, when a minute after a horse's hoof was heard, 
in the black darkness of the night, to touch the boards. 
May then knew he was followed, and instantly reined up. 
The treacherous horseman came on to meet the discharge 
of the pistol. The Indian appeared to fall from his horse 



" OLD TOM'' THE WAR HORSE. 459 

and escape as May rode into his post with the horse 
following. In the morning, the captured animal was found 
to have on him the trappings known to be Wild-Cat's, with 
a ball through his neck, and the worst kind of a kick 
from Old Tom's heels. 

The theatre of Old Tom's renown was next shifted to 
Mexico, where he quickly won the admiration of the 
rough and ready riders of our army, and the profound 
respect of the enemy. At first, the Texans were inclined 
to brag a little of their horses. On one such occasion, May, 
knowing there was nothing " Old Tom " would not try, 
shouted to a mounted party, " Now, follow me," pointing 
at the same time to a ravine which no horse could possibly 
clear. Old Tom dashed on, but at the brink each Texan 
halted. His leap was unhesitatingly made, and all thought, 
for the moment, that horse and rider had been dashed to 
atoms ; Old Tom, however, had fallen unhurt in the soft 
earth of the chasm. 

At Resaca de la Palma, in the charge which took General 
La Vega, Tom's courage shone gloriously. The Mexican 
guns were not only advantageously posted, but had a 
breastwork thrown up, with a ditch in front of it ; in fact, an 
actual battery. So soon as General Taylor perceived it, he 
rode up to May and told him he must take it at any cost ; 
and off dashed the dragoons, going forward like a tornado. 
" Old Tom " went steady at the enemy, all the time making 
tremendous leaps, as he bounded over ditch, breastwork, 
and everything else that came in his way. In this charge, 
an escopette ball, or grape-shot, struck him in the neck ; 
yet so steadily and unswervingly did he ''go the pace " that 



460 REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

it was not known until after the battle that he was 
wounded. The gallant Inge's fate has been much attrib- 
uted to the want of that steadiness and vigor in his charge^ 
which distinguished " Old TouiJ' 

At Monterey, a spent grape-shot keeled Old Tom over. 
May thought him dead, spoke to him in sorrow, but the 
old fellow in a few moments sprung up, shook himself 
heartily, and began to return his master's caresses as if 
" notJiing to speak about " had occurred. All the damage 
was a large welt on his fiank, perhaps the first time Old 
Tom had been oiit-flankcd. 

This one of the heroes of all Taylor's battles in Mexico 
fought his last fight at Buena Vista. He had been under 
the saddle for four days and nights, when on that bloody 
field this " creature of heroic blood " began to show a fail- 
ing of strength, which his devoted master and friend would 
not o'ertask. May had Old Tom withdrawn, much against 
that hero's free consent ; and thereafter the old horse, by 
the interest and affection of his master, passed down the 
vale of Life through paths of peace and plenty. 

" OLD BEN BEALL." 

Bvt. Major Ben. Beall, notwithstanding his humor and 
love of fun, was a good soldier^ and an excellent disciplina- 
rian. When in command, he was dignified and reserved ; 
off duty, he was the prince of good fellows. He could tell 
more unique and original stories, sing better songs, and 
stand up to his " toddy' " more honestly than any man in 
the regiment. No one could tell his stories with the 
same grace, or humorous workings of the countenance, or 



COLOXEL BEX. BEALL. 4G1 

sing his songs with the same expression, and intonations of 
voice. The posts where he was stationed were kept aliv^e 
by his vagaries. When we were in depot at Governor's 
Island in '39, for the purpose of discharging and re-enhst- 
ing the three-years men, Ben. Beall was in his glory. An 
English frigate came into the port, and, of course, civil- 
ities were exchanged. The British officers entertained 
some of us at the old Globe Hotel, away down Broadway. 
" Old-Strike-a-Light," as we delighted to call Beall, was 
there, of course. He amazed John Bull, with his versa- 
tile, never-ending humor. Amongst others he told the 
story, as given by a Frenchman, of the capture of the 
" Guerriere ' by the " Constitution." 

" You see, I vas come from Marseilles with sheep load 
wine and cognac ; I vas go to ze Levant trade. By'm-by 
Capitaine Dacre he com vith zat 'Guerriere,' and he tak 
my sheep ; and he tak all my vine, an my cognac in he's 
sheep ; me and my crew he tak prisonares an he burn my 
sheep. Pretty soon he say: ' Ah, Capitaine Dufosse, I go 
look now fo zat Yankee frigate, ze " Constitution." ' Pretty 
soon he see zat sheep. ' Ah, Capitaine Dufosse,' he say, 
' I'm goin tak zat sheep in twenty minutes.' Ven he come 
up vith her, he give von broadside br-r-r-r-r-rc ! T21X Yankee, 
he no say nossing ; — br-r-r-r-r-rc, ze other broadside. Ze 
Yankee, he no say nossing ! ' Tonnere ! ' I say, ' what is 
zat?' Br-r-r-r-r-re ! br-r-r-r-r-re ! from ze 'Guerriere.' 
Zat sacre Yankee, he no say nossing ! Pretty soon, when he 
come close — br-r-r-r-rc ! br-r-r-r-re ! br-r-r-r-r-re — by gar, I 
go beelow. After avile I com on ze deck. Capitaine Da- 
cre vas giv his sword to Capitaine Hull ! I say, 'Ah, ha I 



,52 REGl'LAKS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

Capitaine Dacre I You say you goin tak zat Yankee frigate 
in tii-t-nty iniuutts ! By gar. he tak you in TAX ! 

Given with the French style and manner and peculiar lin- 
guistical accent, in which he was inimitable, the story was 
received in great good humor, and rounds of applause. 

One of his legion of friends wrote an obituary notice.* of 
which the following was a part : 

" But Colonel Beall was not distinguished for his social 
qualities alone ; he was a soldier in ever}- sense of the word. 
With a noble countenance and a commanding and well-knit 
frame, he looked ever\- inch the warrior. Once in the- 
saddle, his powers of endurance were wonderful. In mid- 
winter, when the valleys at the eastern base of the Rocky 
^Mountains were filled with snow, when even the nomadic 
savage had to seek some sheltered nook to pitch his lodge 
in, it was then that the Colonel used to start on those ex- 
peditions against hostile Indians which rendered him so 
famous. Day after day» night after night, as long as a 
horse could hold him up, he would travel. During his 
term of service in New Mexico, he underwent hardship 
that broke down even the stoutest of his troops ; but cold 
never pinched him, heat never relaxed him, and hunger 
never weakened him. Incapable of fatigue, quick in de- 
cision, brave in action, he was perhaps the best specimen 
of a partisan officer our Service has ever produced. 

" A character like that of Colonel Beall was apt to be 
misunderstood by those who did not know him well : but 
underneath his apparent occasional levity of manner there 
beat a warm and noble heart, and a conscience free from 

* C lonel Benjaxir. Lloyd Beall died a; Bal-.iaore, Aug. :o, 15^3. 



'' THE NOBLEST ROMAN." 463 

guile. A strong undercurrent of religious feeling tinged 
his whole life, and many a time, even in the field, after an 
evening spent over the camp-fire, ' in riot most uncouth,' 
has the writer of this seen the old Colonel, before he retired 
to his bivouac on the ground, take out his prayer-book and 
snatch a few precious moments from his restless and busy 
life for a communion with the things of another world. 

" He is now gone, and in after-times, when the oft-told 
joke goes round and some old, familiar story tliat he once 
told calls out the merry laugh, a tear will mingle -with our 
cups as we think of that true and honest gentleman, that 
noble soldier, that prince of boon companions — Colonel 
Ben. Beall." 

Who, when shattered and broken from scoutings and toils, 

In the Florida war, 
Could smile at grim Death as he felt his cold toils. 

In the Florida war ? 
Who, but valiant old Ben ? — beau ideal of men — 
Who wore gay soldier's tog in the days that we ken, 

In the Florida war. — 
God rest his old head where his blanket is spread. 
Far from toil and cold lead 

And the Florida war ! 

II. " THE NOBLEST ROMAN OF THEM ALL."* 

The sun, which shines alike upon the just and the unjust, 
was reflected from the burnished brasses of the garrison 
of Fort Shaw, Montana, one bright day in the latter part 
of June, 1886. The troops were paraded to do honor to 
the memory of a distinguished non-commissioned ofificer, 

♦This account is prepared from data furnished by Lieut. Philip Reade, Third U. S. 
Infantry. 



464 REGL'LAKS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

who for thirty-five years had helped to defend the Flag of his 
Country with all the power of his strong right arm and 
with all the force of his brave, honest and intelligent exam- 
ple. According to Army Regulations, the funeral escort or 
" firing party " for a sergeant consists of sixteen privates 
commanded by a sergeant, and it is further provided that the 
funeral shall be attended by the non-commissioned officers 
of the company or regiment, with side-arms only. But 
the Colonel of the Third Infantry, responding to the esprit 
de corps which has ever been a marked feature of that 



SERGEANT JAMES FEGAN, 
THIRD U. S. INFANTRY. 



regiment, ordered out the entire garrison in full dress to 
follow the remains of one who represented a type of the 
American Army, now, alas ! seldom to be met with. 

The band, playing a dirge, preceded the cortege; then 
came the firing party, selected with care from the oldest 
and best privates, with' reversed arms, commanded by a 
sergeant of twenty years' service ; then the body on an ar- 
tillery carriage covered with the Stars and Stripes, and 



SERGEANT FEGAN. ^65 

guarded by six stalwart non-commissioned officers as pall- 
bearers ; the chaplain and the surgeon ; the family— the 
gray-haired widow supported by an only son, successor to 
his father's post of First Sergeant ; the post and regimen- 
tal commander as chief mourner for the regiment ; the 
other commissioned officers in the order of rank ; four 
companies of infantry, with the colors draped in mourn- 
ing ; last of all, a number of civilians living in the vicinity. 
Soon are heard the three sharp volleys of musketry which 
terminate the old soldier's last parade, and with a heart- 
felt "peace to his ashes," the martial procession returns 
with quickened pace and livelier music to the duty of the 
hour. 

Let us glance at the military record of the enlisted man 
who was deemed worthy of these extraordinary honors. 

SERGEANT FEGAN, THIRD INFANTRY. 

James Fegan was born in Athlone, Ireland, in 1827, and 
acquired military habits in the constabulary there. Coming 
to this country in early life, he enlisted as a private in 
Company " I," Second United States Infantry, October 29, 
185 1. From that time to 1886 he had been almost 
continuously in the service of the United States as a sol- 
dier, and his record reads more like that of a warrior of the 
early centuries, when war was man's chief pastime, than that 
of a dweller in the New World who was born in the present 
century. Fegan soon proved himself faithful, and was 
promoted to be corporal and then sergeant, and in due 
time, his term of enlistment having expired, he re-enlisted. 
Again and again was he discharged and as often re-enlisted, 



466 REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

until 1861, when he entered upon active service in the 
Army of the Potomac for three years. 

HIS ACTIVE SERVICE. 

He served with his company at the Siege of Yorktozun, 
Gaines' Mills, Malvern Hill, Hanover Court House, Fair 
Oaks, Harrison s Landing, Bull Run, Centreville, South 
Mountain and Antietam. At Antietam he was wounded by 
a rifle bullet in the right leg, but was re-enlisted March 31, 
1864, in Company " C," Third Infantry, and when again 
discharged, his papers showed he had participated in the 
following engagements : Petersburg, Reams' Station, James' 
Station, Birney Station, Stoneman s Creek, first and second 
Deep BottojH, South Side Railroad, Danville Railroad, Boyd- 
ton Plank Road, Appomattox Station, Farnisville City, New 
House, Savage Station, Reno Station, Manchester, Richmond^ 
Dunwiddie, C. H., Burksville Junction, Appomattox Court 
House, Siirrender of Lee's Army. Sergeant Fegan had re- 
ceived several wounds, and one would naturally suppose he 
had had enough of a soldier's career to. satisfy him for the 
remainder of his life. Such, however, was not the case. 
Twice he re-enlisted after this, but after the second enlist- 
ment he was prevailed upon to seek admission to the Sol- 
diers' Home at Washington, whither he went in 1870. Ex- 
istence at the quiet retreat was too tame a thing for him, 
and he succeeded in obtaining a discharge and at once re- 
joined the Army. And there he remained to the day of 
his death, participating in all the duties, dangers and vi- 
cissitudes of the Service, honored by his associates and 
trusted by his superior ofificers. 



AN OLD SOLDIER'S EXPLOITS. 



A DISTINGUISHED RECORD. 



467 



His record bears many endorsements of his bravery and 
efficiency by commanding officers, and he has participated 
in numerous thriUing experiences, besides pitched battles, 
during the war and with the Indians. He stood guard, sin- 
gle-handed and alone, over a deserter he had captured and 
a mule train freighted with gun-powder, at Plum Creek, 
Kansas, when a cowardly assault was made upon him by 
another soldier and a crowd of citizens, and he took both 
deserter and powder to camp. For this. Sergeant Fegan 
received the Medal of Honor, and was mentioned in Orders, 
as follows : 

" Headquarters Fort Dodge, Kansas. 
"■March 13, 1868. 
" Special Orders, 
" No. 39. 

" It becomes the pleasant duty of the commanding officer to notice in terms 
of approbation, the conduct of Sergeant James Fegan of Company ' H,' 3d 
U. S. Infantry, while in charge of a supply train en route from Fort Harker to 
Fort Dodge, Kansas. 

" During the journey, while encamped at Plum Creek, Sergeant John W. 
Blake, Troop ' B,' 7th U. S. Cavalry, aided by some citizens, made a violent 
and cowardly assault upon Sergeant Feg.a.n, while the latter was guarding a 
deserter, whom he had recently apprehended. He was threatened with death 
if he did not allow the prisoner to escape ; but true to his trust and to his good 
record as a soldier, he yielded nothing but what was wrested from him by 
force. And at the same time defended himself with great courage and ability. 
He defended, single-handed, the train freighted with gunpowder, when threat- 
ened, and brought it safely to this Post. 

" The courage and firmness with which Sergeant Fegan performed this dif- 
ficult duty is worthy of all praise, and is in keeping with his excellent record 



468 REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

as a soldier through many years of service. His conduct is worthy the em- 
ulation of all the soldiers of this Command who deem their profession honor- 
able, and who desire to fulfil the requirements of it with honor and credit to 
themselves. 

" By order of Major H. DOUGLAS. 
" Thom.\s S. Wallace, 

" 2d Lieut, yi U. S. Infantry, 
" Post Adjutant. " 

In a recent letter from Sergeant Fegan's company com- 
mander, he says : 

A commander's tribute. 

" He was exemplar}^ in his habits, honest, truthful, 
slow to anger, conscientious, respectful and soldierly in 
his demeanor to officers, a tower of strength among the 
men. In personal appearance, he resembled General Har- 
ney as the latter looked thirty years ago. Many humorous 
stories are told of Fegan. He was a character whose life 
and habits furnished many salients whereon to hang anec- 
dotes. His own son, James Fegan, Jr., enlisted in H Com- 
pany, 3d Infantry, eleven years ago, and was last year pro- 
moted to be First Sergeant of the Company. 

" The singular spectacle of father and son both serving as 
sergeants in the same organization thus presents itself. We 
were proud of old Fegan, who, from his earnings, gave his 
son what he lacked himself ; to wit, a good education. 
As long ago as 1867 the old soldier brought me $2800 to 
keep for him. This was in an adobe hut on the banks of 
the muddy Arkansas, at Fort Dodge. Calling his wife to 
him, he bade her ' dhrop a curtsey to the Liftinint ! ' 
This she did. The old warrior was over. six feet. Standinef 



A VERY ^^ FRESH'' RECRUIT. ,5^ 

erect, his long arms were just able to rest on the curly head 
of a miniature reproduction of himself as he sonorously 
said : ' Liftinint ! The proudest fither in his father's cap 
it will be whin he sees this lad idducated like an officer 
and a gintleman. An' we've got the monney to do it, too, 
—haven't we, ould woman ? Dhrop a curtsey, woman ! 
Right-hand salute, Jhames, to the Liftinint ! ' 

" At another time,— hour, midnight ; place, the guard- 
house,— he being the Sergeant of the Guard, was addressed 
by a rather fresh recruit as ' Jim.' Whack ! and the neo- 
phyte was sprawling, while seventy-f^ve inches of irate, 
Hibernian, soldierly humanity roared out: 'Jim, is it? 
Whin I'm on dhuty it's "Sergeant Faygan " ye'll call 
me. Whin I'm off dhuty, thin, an' not //// thin, I'm Jim ! 
D'ye mind it! D'ye MIND it ! ' And he again flourished 
a fist as big as a Missouri ham in the face of the terrified 
recruit. 

" If you have received any impression from this screed 
that Fegan was a coarse, or brutal, or over-exacting man, 
you are in error. He appreciated himself at his exact value ; 
no more, no less. Officers were, to him, of the ' quality,'— 
clay different from his. He was a devout Roman Catholic. 

LOYALTY AND FIDELITY. 

" In 1868, a Deputy U. S. Marshal came to Fort Dodge 
one evening to arrest me. The suit was at the instance of 
some citizens who had been broken up by me in the busi- 
ness of trading whiskey to Arrapahoe and Cheyenne Indi- 
ans. Having had warning of the advent of the hapless dep- 
uty U. S. M., I casually— very casually, you will understand, 



470 REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

— mentioned the fact to Sergeant Fegan. He carelessly 
asked where would the U. S. M. sleep. Similarly, without 
assignable reason, he inquired would I be at the Post Trad- 
er's until, mayhap, midnight, that night ? I incidentally 
gave him information and details. Of course there was 
an entire absence of purpose in three or four circumstances 
that followed ; to wit (i), I domiciled and fed and drank the 
D. U. S. M. in my own quarters, suggesting that he defer 
until the next day any business he might have with me. 
(2) By a singular coincidence, the night that I spent at bill- 
iards at the sutler's store, old Fegan and a few steady men 
of my company had passes, with permission to be absent 
from the Reservation. (3) When I returned to my quarters, 
I tip-toed to the room where I had left my Deputy U. S. M. 
asleep, but was astounded to find the bed empty, his bag- 
gage gone, the man nowhere to be found. 

" Long afterward the Deputy told me — he was a pretty 

clever fellow, Charley W by name— that late that night 

he was gently but resolutely awakened from his stupor — 
slumbers, I mean — by a giant, who had a whisper like the 
North wind and the sinews of a Goliath, who enjoine|l 
him to get up, dress, pack his things and silently follow him 
to a wagon. By the way the Hercules spoke, the Deputy 
U. S. M. thought he meant it, and he meekly com- 
plied. Without injury of any kind, the civil functionary 
was taken to a point on Pawnee Creek, and there advised to 
take the stage away from Fort Dodge. He did so. Old 
Fegan always looked preternaturally sober whenever I tried 
to talk about it. Do you blame me for feeling that in his 
death I lost a friend ? " 



THE AMERICAN PRIVATE SOLDIER. 471 

THE " MEN BEHIND THE MUSKETS." 

" The Annals of War abound with names of titled military 
men, generals, colonels, and those of lesser rank but equal 
bravery, to whom their country and the world have justly 
awarded the deathless meed that heroism everywhere and 
always deserves. No one questions the right of these 
valiant warriors to wear their laurels and to enjoy their 
well-earned renown. Physical bravery and soldierly leader- 
ship will be admired and extolled by humanity for ages to 
come, and it is right that they should be. The people that 
has no appreciation of dauntless manhood and the prowess 
of military chieftainship is likely to be one of poor spirit, 
incapable of the noblest and best inspirations. But some- 
times, to a close observer, it would seem that the incense 
cloud which popular feeling continually keeps ascending 
before the shrine of the greater heroes, obscures and belittles 
the deeds of the humbler ones. The general, the colonel 
and their subordinates plan the battles, marshal the armies 
.and keep the serried ranks in order, inspiring those under 
their command by counsel and examples, but it is the men 
behind the muskets who do the fighting and win the victo- 
ries. Never was this exemplified in a more striking way 
than during our own great struggle of twenty years ago. 
The American Private Soldier gained the admiration and 
applause of the world by his sublime heroism ; animated by 
a grand purpose and thinking while he fought of all that de- 
pended upon his exertions, he was doubly a hero — a hero 
physically and morally — and he won battles and achieved 
triumphs, often under the most adverse circumstances, and 



472 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



despite bad generalship, for it must not be forgotten that 
we had bad as well as good leaders. So when we crown the 
titled soldier with laurels and wave incense before his face, 
we must not fail to remember that behind and around him 
cluster the memories of thousands of private soldiers whose 
thinking and fighting were factors that largely helped to 
give him his fame." 



FIRST SERGEANT JAMES FEGAN, 
Company H, 3D U. S. Infantry ; 
Died at Fort Shaiv, hlontanay 
June 25, 1886, aged 59. 
Service. Enlisted in Co. I, 2d Infantry, Oct. 29, 1851 ; re-enlisted Aug. 29, 1856 ; re- 
enlisted July I, 1861. Re-enlisted in Co. C, 3d Infantry, March 31, 1864; re-enlisted 
March 31, 1867 ; re-enlisted (Co. H ) March 31, 1870 ; re-enlisted Aug. 13, 1873 ; re- 
enlisted Aug. 13, 1878; re-enlisted Aug. 13, 1883. Retired from Active Service as 
Sergeant at Fort Missoula, M. T., May 8, 1885. Participated in 30 battles. War of the 
Rebellion, and numerous Indian affairs. ?i'o?/«a'«'rt' at " Antietam," 1862. Mentioned 
in Orders and awarded the U. S. IMedal 0/ Honor and a Certificate 0/ Merit for con- 
spicuous gallantry at Plum Creek, Kansas, March, 1868. Sergea?it Fegan was made 
(Dec. 6, 1882) t/ie subject 0/ a Special Message to Congress from the Presidefit 0/ the 
United States. 




" CHUM- 

A MERITORIOUS CAMP FOLLOWER. 



Born at Fort Leavetrivorth, Kan., Aicgiist 6, 1876. 
Died at Fort Brady, Michigan, March 5, 1886. 



u/^"^HUM" accompanied the 23d U.S. Infantry all 
V_^ through the Cheyenne expedition of '78. He 
marched with the regiment from Fort Leavenworth to Fort 
Supply, Indian Territory, in '79; thence he marched with 
Co. " A," to the Cantonment on the Uncompahgre River, 
Colorado, thence to Fort Union, New Mexico. He also 
accompanied the troops from Fort Union to Richmond 
Post-Office, Arizona, in an expedition against the Apaches, 
known as the Gila Expedition of '82. During the expedi- 
tion the troops suffered severely from want of water. A 
detachment of Co. "A" was sent to scout through the 
country to find pure water, but after travelling all day and 
all iright without finding even any signs of it, they went 
into camp, and such was their suffering that they resolved 
to kill poor " Chum " for his blood. One of the detachment 
now (1886) stationed at Fort Brady, Mich., begged for 
" Chum's " life, and it was spared, providing water would be 
found within the next hour; and luckily enough it was the 
dog who led them to it. " Chum " returned with the com- 

^^ 473 



474 



A MERITOBIOUS CAMP FOLLOWER. 



mand to Fort Union, and went with it to Fort Brady, in 
June, 1884. The command felt grieved over "Chum's' 
death, and tried to show their love for him by burying 
him with appropriate military honors, and erecting a neat 
headboard over his grave, near the Post Cemetery, 




" CHUM.'" 



APPENDIX. 



MILITARY REWARDS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
(1776-1886.) 

UPERIOR merit and capacity were rewarded in various 
ways by the Romans. A victorious general was, if the 
people considered him worthy of it, honored with a 
triumph. The General entered Rome in a magnifi- 
icent chariot, followed by his soldiers and by the 
[spoils and prisoners taken from the enemy ; the 
more splendid the victory the more gorgeous the 
pageant. When a Roman saved the life of a fellow- 
citizen he was crowned with a chaplet of oak ; this 
distinction was by no means trifling. It gave him 
State privileges, and allowed him to confer them 
upon his father and grandfather by his father's side ; an encouragement to merit 
which cost the country nothing, and was productive of many great effects. The 
Greeks had no triumphs, but citizens who saved or protected the lives of others 
were honored by a crown and a complete suit of armor. Among them, want of 
military virtue was rather punished than valor rewarded ; this was particularly 
so among the Spartans ; it was considered that the most determined bravery 
was such a matter of course, that any, the slightest deviation from that excel- 
lence was worthy of degradation. Thus only one Spartan escaped at the battle 
of Thermopylffi ; he was branded as a coward and his face shaven on one side 
to mark him ; next year the battle of Platsea was fought and the Spartan was 
in the Grecian ranks. Stung by the reproaches he received, he sought an hon- 
orable death to atone for the past, but the stern justice of his country forbade 
him the burial— the only grim reward for valor— which his fellow countrymen 
received ; his death was considered the effect of despair, not of bravery and 
devotion.* 




* " The Causes which have led to the Pre-eminence of Nations," by Ross of Bladens- 
burg, \vi Journal Royal U. S. Institution (London). 

475 




4/6 APPENDIX. 



THE HONORARY BADGE OF MILITARY MERIT. 

General Washington understood the value of personal 
decoration for gallantry or meritorious conduct, and on 
August 7, 1782, issued the following order from his head- 
I quarters at Newburg. 

" Honorary badges are to be conferred on the veteran 
'non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the army who 
have served more than three years with bravery, fidelity and 
good conduct ; for this purpose a narrow piece of ivhite cloth 
of an angular for 7n is to be fixed to the left arm on the uniform coats ; non- 
commissioned officers and soldiers who have served with equal reputation more 
than six years, are to be distinguished by two pieces of cloth set in parallel to. 
each other in a similar form. Should any who are not entitled to these honors 
have the in.solence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished. 
On the other hand, it is expected that gallant men who are thus designated will, 
on all occasions, be treated with particular confidence and consideration. 

" The General, ever desirous to cherish a virtuous ambition in his soldiers, 
as well as to foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that 
whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall 
be permitted to wear on his facings, over his left breast, the figure of a heart in 
purple cloth or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of 
unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any 
way shall meet with a due reward. 

" Before this favor can be conferred on any man, the particular fact or facts 
on which it is to be grounded must be set forth to the commander-in-chief, 
accompanied with certificates from the commanding officers of the regiment 
dnd brigade to which the candidate for reward belonged, or other incontestable 
proofs, and, upon granting it, the name and regiment of the person with the 
action so certified are to be enrolled in the Book of Merit, which will be kept at 
the orderly office. 

"Men who have merited this last distinction to be suffered to pass all 
guards and sentinels which officers are permitted to do. The road to glory in a 
patriot army and a free country /j thus opened to all. 

" This order is also to have retrospect to the earliest days of the war, and to 
be considered as a permanent one. 

"Sunday, August 11, 1782. 
" In order to prevent misapplication of the honorary badges of distinction to 
be conferred on the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, in consequence of 
long and faithful service, through any mistake or misapprehension of the or- 
ders of the 7th inst., the General thinks proper to inform the Army that they 
are only attainable by an uninterrupted series of faithful and honorable services. 



WASHINGTON'S BADGE OF MILITARY MERIT. j[-j-j 

A soldier who has once retired from the field of glory forfeits all pretensions to 
precedence from former services ; and a man who has deservedly met an 
ignominious punishment or degradation cannot be admitted a candidate for any 
honorary distinction, unless he shall have wiped away the stain his reputation 
has suffered by some very brilliant achievement, or by serving with reputation, 
after his disgrace, the number of years which entitle other men to that indul- 
gence. The badges which non-commissioned officers and soldiers are per- 
mitted to wear on the left arm, as a mark of long and faithful service, are to be 
of the same color with the facing of the corps they belong to, and not white in 
every instance, as directed in the orders of the 7th inst." 

On the 9th of September, a Board was appointed to examine and leport of 
the claims of the candidates for the Badge of Merit. 

The Board, of which Brigadier-General Greaton was president, made the fol- 
lowing report on the 24th of April, 17S3. 

************* 

" 1st. — That Sergeaitt Elijah Churchill, of the 2d Regiment of Light Dragoons, 
on the several enterprises against Fort St. George and Fort Stongo, on Long 
Island, in their opinion acted a very conspicuous and singularly meritorious 
part; that at the head of each body of attack he not only acquitted himself 
with great gallantry, firmness and address, but that the surprise in one instance 
and the success of the attack in the other, proceeded, in a considerable degree, 
from his conduct and management. 

" 2d. — That Sergeant Bnnan, of the late 5th Conn. Regiment, in the assault of 
the enemy, left redoubt in Yorktown in Virginia, on the evening of the 14th of 
October, 1781, conducted a forlorn hope with great bravery, propriety and de- 
liberate firmness, and that his general character appears unexceptionable. 

Extract from Certificate ivith the Badge. — " Now therefore know ye that the 
aforesaid Sergeant Elij.\h Churchill hath fully and truly deserved, and hath 
been properly invested with the Honorary Badge of Military Merit, and is 
authorized and entitled to pass and repass all guards and Military Posts as fully 
and amply as any Commissioned Officer whatever : and is hereby further 
recommended to that favorable notice which a brave and faithful soldier de- 
serves from his countrymen. 

" Given under my hand and seal at the Headquarters of the American Army, 
this first day of May, 1783. 

" By his Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, 

" JoNA. Trumbull, Jr. 

" Secretary." 



4/8 



APPENDIX. 



BREVETS.* 



7////«/^HE first brevet given by Congress (July 20, 1776) was 
that of Lieutenant-Colonel to M. de Franchessin, "a 
Knight of the Order of St. Louis, an experienced 
officer in the French service, and who is well recom- 
mended in letters from abroad." 

The earliest brevet issued for special gallantry was 
(October 27, 1778) of Lieutenant-Colonel to M. 
Tousard (afterward Lieutenant-Colonel, Command- 
ant of Artillery and Engineers) in a resolution of 
Congress which read, " That the gallantry of Mon- 
sieur Tousard in the late action on Rhode Island is 
deserving of the highest applause." 

The first reward of this kind to Americans was the 
brevet of Captain to Lieutenant Henry Knox (after- 
ward Major-General and Secretary of War), with the assurance "That Con- 
gress warmly approve and applaud the cool, determined spirit with which (he) 
led on the forlorn hope at Stony Point, braving danger and death in the cause 
of his country." 

At the beginning of our second war with Great Britain there was not a single 
officer living who held a brevet in our Arm)', and Congress passed a law (July 6, 
1812) that "The President is hereby authorized to confer brevet rank upon 
such officers of the Army as shall distinguish themselves by gallant actions or 
meritorious conduct." 

During the war with Mexico, the following law was made by Congress, March 
3. 1847 : 




" When any non-commissioned officer shall distinguish or may have distinguished him- 
self in the Service, the President of the United States shall be and is hereby authorized, on 
the recommendation of the commanding officer of the regiment to which said non-commis- 
sioned officer belongs, to attach him by brevet of the lowest grade to any corps of the 
Army. Provided, that there shall not be more than one attached to any one company at 
the same time." 

During the late war (March 3, 1S63) the President was further authorized to 
brevet " commissioned officers of the volunteer and other forces in the United 
States service for gallant actions." 



* Brevet is derived from the Latin breve, brevia, words still preserved in English law, 
meaning a brief ; a parchment containing a notification. A brevet under the existing 
laws, affecting the regular military service of the United States, may be defined as a com- 
mission conferring upon an officer a grade in the ^ ?-;«>' additional to and higher than 
that which, at the time it is bestowed, he holds by virtue of his commission in a particular 
corps of the legally established military organization. " History and Legal Effects of 
Brevets," by Gen. J. B. Fry, U. S. A. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1877. 



MILITARY MEDALS. 



479 



In 1S69 it was enacted that " from and after the passage of this act, commis- 
sions by brevet shall only be conferred in time of War, and for distinguished con- 
duct and public service in the presence of the enemy." 




\^ Ccngress had not yet proclaimed the independence of 

i*_^ the Thirteen United Colonies, when, on March 25, 1776, it 

was ordered that a gold medal should be struck and pre- 
sented " To His Excellency, General Washington, for his 
wise and spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition of 
Boston."* 

Instructions were sent to Benjamin Franklin, then in 
Paris, to employ the best artists in France for the purpose, 
and the medals struck by order of Congress for certain 
heroes of the Revolution were perfect specimens of the 
niedallic art. 

Franklin's ideas upon the subject are expressed in the fol- 
lowing extract from one of his letters to the Secretary 
of State, dated Passy, May 10, 1785: 
" The ancients, when they ordained a medal to record the memory of any laud- 
able action, and to do honor to the performer of that action, struck a vast num- 
ber and used them as money. By this means the honor was extended through 
their own and neighboring nations : every man who received or paid a piece of 
money was reminded of the virtuous action, the person who performed it and 
the reward attending it ; and the number gave such security to this kind of mon- 
ument against perishing and being forgotten, that some of each of them exist 
to this day, though more than two thousand years old, and being now copied in 
books by the art of engraving and painting are not only exceedingly multiplied, 
but likely to remain some thousands of years longer. The man who is honored 
only by a single medal is obliged to show it to enjoy the honor which can be 
done only to a few, and often awkwardly. I therefore wish the medals of Con- 
gress were ordered to be money." 

Although the first medal voted was a gold medal to Washington, the first one 
struck was the silver medal to Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury, one of the young of- 
ficers of the French Army, who obtained leave to enter our service in 1777. 
His devotion to our cause was so thorough, and his exploits so gallant that they 
merit brief notice here. 

Upon arriving in America this officer, who was an engineer, with other of his 
countrymen, applied for commissions. General Washington, however, declined 
to grant their requests, as many adventurers had already entered the Service. 
Failing to obtain an appointment as" an officer, De Fleury entered the ranks and 



* Loubat's " Medallic History United States. 



48o APPENDIX. 

soon fought his way to promotion. He was wounded and had a horse killed 
under him at Fort Mifflin, for wliich Congress voted him another horse, pro- 
moted him a lieutenant-colonel (Nov. 26, 1777) in consideration of the disin- 
terested gallantry he had manifested in the service of the United States." 

In the assault upon Stony Point (July 15, 1779) he commanded one of the 
storming parties, was the first to enter the main work, and struck the British 
flag with his own hands. For this achievement Congress voted him a silver 
medal and subsequently a vote of thanks for " his zeal, activity, military genius 
and gallantry." He served under Rochambeau 17S0-82. 

After the close of the Revolution, Colonel Fleury went to India, and in 1790 
returned to France. He was put on the pension list there, but continued in 
active service with the rank of Marechal-de-camp until 1792, when, during the 
retreat from Mons, his horse fell and he was ridden over by part of a regiment 
of the enemy's cavalry and was permanently disabled. The same year, at the 
age of forty-three, he retired from the Army. 

But eighty-six medals in all have been struck since the foundation of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States. But three of these commemorate episodes of 
the War of the Rebellion: one to General Grant for his victories, one to Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt for patriotic generosity, and, at the close of the War, one to 
George Foster Robinson for saving the life of Mr. Seward, Secretary of State.* 

THE MED.\L OF HONOR. 

The Medal of Honor for the army was first established as a reward for 
military service by a law approved July 12, 1862, as follows : 

" Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 
of America in Congress assembled, that the President of the United States be 
and he is hereby authorized to cause 2000 ' medals of honor ' to be prepared, 
with suitable emblematic devices, and to direct that the same be presented in 
the name of Congress to such non-commissioned officers and privates as shall 
most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and their soldier-like 
qualities during the present insurrection." 

This was followed by an act (March 3, 1S63) to the " effect that the Presi- 
dent cause to be struck from the dies recently prepared at the United States 
Mint for that purpose ' Medals of Honor ' additional to those authorized by the 
act of July 12, 1862, and present the same to such officers, non-commissioned 
officers and privates as have most distinguished or may hereafter most distin- 
guish themselves in action ; and the sum of $20,000 is hereby appropriated 
out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the 
expenses of the same." 

The medal t is described as " a five-pointed star, tipped with trefoil, each point 

* See p. front, to Foiling an Assassin. 

t For fac-simile of the Medal of Honor, see opposite first page of Preface. 



THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 48 1 

containing a crown of laurel and oak; in the middle, within a circle of thirty. 
four stars, America, personified as Minerva, stands with her left hand resting 
on the fasces, while with her right, in which she holds a shield emblazoned 
with the American arms, she repulses Discord, represented by two snakes in 
each hand ; the whole suspended by a trophy of two crossed cannons, balls 
and a sword surmounted by the American eagle, which is united by a ribbon 
of thirteen stripes, palewise, gules and argent and a chief azure, to a clasp 
composed of two cornucopias and the American arms." 

General E. D. Townsend (late Adjutant-General of the Army) says: * 

" As soon as news of the Civil War in the United States became known in 
Europe, many persons who had been officers in foreign armies came to offer 
their services to the Government. It frequently happened that these gentlemen 
brought letters of introduction and testimonials of their military career. Some- 
times they came accredited to our Department of State. They usually paid 
their respects to General Scott, and not unfrequently, on such an occasion, wore 
their uniform, with all their decorations — medals or orders. There were 
many men in our volunteer service who had served abroad, and it was quite 
the habit among them to display on their uniforms such marks of distinction 
if they possessed them. It is no wonder if they were objects of envy to many 
of our young aspirants for military glory 

" The experience of the Mexican War, when the honor of a brevet was so 
often persistently sought for through political influence, sometimes without 
any special military merit to sustain it, early suggested to me the probability 
that the same evil, in magnified form, would arise during the Civil War. It was 
very desirable, therefore, if possible, to prevent what afterward actually hap- 
pened, the destruction of the practical benefit arising from the brevet system. 
Instead of tardy and sometimes indiscriminate recommendations for brevets, 
why should not our generals, when in command of armies in time of war, be 
clothed with the power of rewarding distinguished acts of bravery, on the 
instant, by issuing orders conferring a medal for them, such orders to be as 
soon as possible confirmed and executed by the War Department .-" Mistakes 
would rarely, if ever, be made ; and the excellent effect of a prompt recognition 
of gallantry in battle is no new thing in history. 

"Impressed with these ideas, I, early in 1S61, urged their adoption upon 
General Scott, and upon the chairman of the Senate Military Committee, the 
Secretary of War, and others in influence. They objected that it was contrary 
to the spirit of our institutions to wear decorations, and therefore the measure 
would not be popular. I instanced the pride which children feel in wearing 
medals won at schools, and the pains taken by parents to foster it ; and sug- 
gested that, if those who won medals did not choose to wear them, they 
would none the less value them, and so would their descendants after them. 



* " Anecdotes of the Civil War," by Gen. E. D. Townsend. New York : D. Appleton 
&Co. 



482 APPENDIX. 

Nothing was done in that direction, however, until the 12th of July, 1S62, 
when Congress passed a resolution to award medals of honor to enlisted men, 
which, by the act of March 3, 1863, was extended to officers also. These 
medals, although intrinsically of but little value, have been eagerly sought for 
and highly prized. The main objection to them is the mode of conferring, 
under which years have sometimes elapsed before sufficiently reliable testi- 
mony could be obtained that the claimant was justly entitled to one, according 
to the terms of the law." 

In Gen. Townsend's annual report, 1S64, the matter was presented to the 
notice of the Secretary of War, and of Congress, in these words : 

" ' The Medal of Honor is of bronze, of neat device, and is highly prized by 
those on whom it has been bestowed. Hitherto no medals have been conferred 
upon commissioned officers, apparently under the idea that at some future day 
their acts of distinguished bravery would be recognized by brevets. It is 
believed that, in the majority of cases, the award of a gold or silver medal 
would be quite as acceptable as the brevet, and of more substantial value, es- 
pecially in the volunteer service. ... If any act were passed to authorize 
it, a prompt and gratifying acknowledgment of distinguished services could be 
made, by publishing a general order awarding to the officer " the gold medal " 
or the "silver medal," with the privilege of engraving thereon the name and 
date of the battle in which his gallantry was conspicuous. In case of his again 
winning distinction, he would be authorized in general orders to add to the 
inscription upon his medal the name and date of his new exploit. If both 
gold and silver medals were authorized, there would be no objection to the 
same officer being the recipient of both, if won by meritorious conduct at dif- 
ferent times, and different in degree. The system of medals need in no wise 
interfere with the conferring of brevet rank in cases where such rank might be 
actually exercised in high commands, or at the discretion of the President ; but 
it would relieve the pressure for brevets on the part of the many officers who 
justly believe they have won a title to some mark of honor, and would avoid 
the many vexed questions likely to arise from the possession of brevet rank 
by so large a number of officers as reasonably prefer a claim to reward." 

CORPS BADcis. 

As a sort of substitute for medals, the Corps Badges have 
come to be regarded as a proud mark of distinction, and me- 
morial of service in the War 1S61-5. 

To Major-General Joseph Hooker probably belongs the 
credit of first having issued orders for the adoption of regular 
corps badges, to be worn by officers and enlisted men of all 
the regiments of various corps through the entire Army of 

SECOND CORPS. , ^ ^ , ^ , ^, ,, -,, 

the Potomac. Just before the ChancellorsviUe campaign, on 
the 2 1st of March, 1863, he issued a circular prescribing the device for a badge 
for each corps, " for the purpose of ready recognition of corps and divisions of 




CORPS BADGES. .g^ 

this army, and to prevent injustice by reports of straggling aud misconduct, 
through mistake as to their organizations." They were to be "fastened on 
the centre of the top of the cap." The devices seem to have been arbitrarily 
chosen, without particular significance. 

The divisions of each corps were indicated by one of the colors, red, white, 
blue ; and green and orange, if there were more than three divisions, upon some 
part of the badges. They were either suspended by the tri-colored ribbon, or 
fastened with a pin. As there were usually three divisions in a corps, the na- 
tional colors were the ones sure to be represented. For the headquarters, 
some slight modifications were made in the form worn by the divisions. 
When several army corps were consolidated into an "army," the badge of that 
army headquarters consisted of a combination in one of all those of the corps. 

Corps badges have now a legal recognition in the Revised Statutes of the 
United States : 

" Section 1227. All persons who have served as officers, non-commissioned 
officers, privates, or other enlisted men, in the regular Army, Volunteer, or 
Militia forces of the United States, during the War of the Rebellion, and have 
been honorably discharged from the Service, or still remain in the same, shall 
be entitled to wear, on occasions of ceremony, the distinctive army badge 
ordered for or adopted by the army corps and division, respectively, in which 
they served." 

From General Jefferson C. Davis this legend of the Acorn Badge 
was received: After the battle of Chickamauga, Rosecran's army 
Imade a stand at and around Chattanooga. This army, 
lowing to exceedingly muddy roads, and the cutting of its lines of 
communication by the Confederates, had great difficulty in get- 
ting supplies. The Fourteenth Corps was encamped near a wood 
of oak trees, which were at that time covered with acorns. As 
the rations fell short, many of the men gathered the acorns and 
FOURTEENTH ate them roasted, till at length it was observed that they had be- 
CORPS. come quite an important part of the ration, and the men of the 
C(?rps jestingly called themselves "The Acorn Boys." 

In announcing this badge, Major-General John A. 
Logan, commanding the Fifteenth Corps, says : " If 
any corps in the army has a right to take a pride in 
its badge, surely that has which looks back through 
the long and glorious line (enumerating thirty-five 
engagements and battles, and scores of minor strug- 
gles) ; the corps which had its birth under Grant and 
Sherman in the darker days of our struggle; the 
corps which will keep on struggling until the death 
of the Rebellion." 

FIFTEENTH CORPS. _, , . ,. , , , , , „., 

The device of the badge of the Fifteenth Corps was 
suggested by the following incident : The Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were 





484 



APPENDIX. 



transferred from the Army of the Potomac to the Department of the Cumber- 
land. They were better dressed than the other troops of that department, and 
a little rivalry sprang up between these Eastern boys and those who came 
from the West, The latter spoke of the former as " the men who wore paper 
shirt-collars, and crescents and stars." Before the Fifteenth Corps had anv 
badge, an Irishman belonging to it went to the river near camp to fill his can- 
teen. There he met a soldier of one of the newly arrived corps, whose badges 
were the subject of ridicule by his comrades. The latter saluted the Irishman 
with the query, " What corps do you belong to ? " " The Fifteenth, sure." 
" Well, then, where is your badge ? " " My badge, is it.-" Well " (clapping his 
hand on his cartridge-box), " here's my badge ! Forty rounds! It's the orders 
to always have forty rounds in our cartridge-bo.x, and we always do." 

Major-General Francis P. Blair says in his 
order : " The badge now worn by the corps 
being similar to one formerly adopted by 
SEVENTEENTH CORPS. anothcr corps, the major-general commanding 

has concluded to adopt, as a distinguishing badge for the command, an ar- 




TWENTY-FOURTH CORPS. 



" In its swiftness, in its surety of striking where wanted, and its destructive 
powers when so intended, it is probably as emblematical of this corps as any 
design that could be adopted." 

This corps was organized late in the war, and was for 
the most part composed of veterans who had served in 
other corps. Major-General John Gibbon, in his orders 
adopting the badge, says : " The symbol selected is one 
which testifies our affectionate regard for all our brave 
comrades — alike the living and the dead, who have braved 
the perils of this mighty conflict, — and our devotion to the 
sacred cause — a cause which entitles us to the sym- 
pathy of every brave and true heart, and the support of 
every strong and determined hand. 

" The major-general commanding the corps does not doubt that the soldiers 
who have given their strength and blood to the fame of their former badges 
will imite in rendering the present one even more renowned than those under 
which they have heretofore marched to battle." 

This corps was composed entirely of colored soldiers. 
It was the first to occupy Richmond, Virginia, April 3, 
1S65. The following is Major-General Godfrey Weitzel's 
order : 

" In view of the circumstances under which this corps 
was raised and filled, the peculiar claims of its individual 




TWENTY-FIFTH CORPS. 



members upon the justice and fair dealing of the preju- 
diced, and the regularity of the conduct of the troops which deserve those equal 
rhJits that have hitherto been denied the majority, the commanding general 



CERTIFICATE OF MERIT. 



4§5 



has been induced to adopt the square as the distinctive badge of the Twenty, 
fifth Army Corps. 

" Wherever danger has been found and glory to be won, the heroes who 
have fought for immortality have been distinguished by some emblem to which 
every victory added a new lustre. They looked upon their badge with pride, 
for to it they had given its fame. In the homes of smiling peace it recalled the 
days of courageous endurance and the hours of deadly strife, and it solaced the 
moment of death, for it was a symbol of a life of heroism and self-denial. 

" Soldiers ! to you is given a chance, in this Spring campaign, of making 
this badge immortal. Let history record that, on the banks of the James, 
thirty thousand freemen not only gained their own liberty, but ■ shattered the 
prejudice of the world, and gave to the land of their birth peace, union, and 
glory." 

CERTIFICATES OF MERIT. 

During the War with Mexico a law was passed that " when any private 
soldier shall so distinguish himself (or may have distinguished himself in the 
Service) the President may (upon the recommendation of the commanding 
officer of the regiment) grant him a Certificate of Merit, which shall entitle him 
to additional pay at the rate of two dollars per month (March 3, 1847). 




486 



APPENDIX. 



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